The Circle of the Digidestined
by Freedom Fighter
Summary: 25 years have passed since the defeat of MaloMyotismon and the Digiworld has been rather peaceful since. But now humans are using Digimon to try to destroy both worlds again. Do the reunited Digidestined have what it takes to stop this new threat?
1. Don't Turn Your Back

"The Circle of the Digidestined," written by Freedom Fighter  
  
Disclaimer: None of the characters, human or Digimon, belong to me, the writer.  
  
Author's Warning: The following fanfic features gruesome character death, both of the human  
and Digimon kind, violence of varying levels, some profane language, and some suggestive  
situations. Please do not read this fanfic if you're underage or feel that you cannot handle  
any of said features.  
  
This particular episode features character death, mildly descriptive.  
  
======  
  
  
The sky was bright and beeming with energy on this day in the Digital World. Flowers were  
blooming, Digimon were munching on the grass, and humans were taking a census.  
  
"One hundred thirty-seven, one hundred thirty-eight, one hundred thirty-nine..."  
  
Three men, all wearing lab coats and holding clipboards in their hands, were taking a tally of  
the number of Digimon currently residing in the Digiworld. At this particular moment, they  
were counting Jagamon, which are the equivalent of rams or sheep in the real world.  
  
"One hundred forty-four, one hundred forty-five..."  
  
Among them was a familiar blue haired individual with glasses. He was one of the world's  
foremost experts on the Digiworld. After all, he had spent some time here as a child. Of  
course, he didn't want to, but back then finding a way back to the real world was virtually  
impossible.  
  
"One hundred fifty..."  
  
That was 28 years ago. Today, humans and Digimon alike are able to travel freely between both  
the real world and the Digital World. Humans were more likely to make the jump through worlds  
than Digimon were. And when Digimon did go to the real world, most of them came in peace.  
  
There were a few exceptions to that, but local law enforcements were able to keep those  
incidents from becoming major threats to the world's security and safety. After all, nearly  
half of the human world's population had a Digimon that they kept with them. The other half  
had Digimon that they could only visit in the Digiworld.  
  
"One hundred and fifty-three. That should be all of them."  
  
"I got the same count."  
  
"Me too."  
  
Unfortunately, it was much harder to keep order in the Digiworld. The number of Digimon that  
were capable of keeping the Digiworld safe were outnumber by far by those who would want to  
destroy it. And when things would get so bad that the Digimon couldn't handle things by  
themselves, a team of human specialists were called in.  
  
They were called the Digimon Protection Agency, or DPA for short.  
  
  
***** Episode One - Don't Turn Your Back (10.15.02) *****  
  
  
"Census complete in West Quadrant, Sector 3.19, Izzy."  
  
"Good work, Joe. Continue on to Sector 3.20."  
  
"Negative."  
  
  
======  
  
  
Inside a research facility in the real world, an auburn-haired man was at the communication  
panel, keeping tabs on his three associates in the real world.  
  
"Why negative?"  
  
"'Cause we're all famished. Can we get an hour break for lunch?"  
  
The guy at the console, Koushiro 'Izzy' Izumi, laughs before responding, "Okay, stand by.  
I'll create a portal for you guys in a second."  
  
Although humans could travel to and fro with the greatest of ease, there were still parts of  
the Digital World which didn't have direct portals back to the real world. To get back from  
those places, a scientist would have to create a temporary portal. Temporary portals could  
last anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes, depending on the distance between the  
departure and arrival points.  
  
But just as Izzy starts typing away at the console to create such a portal, a small girl's  
voice fills the air.  
  
"Ooh, that looks fun! Can I help you with that?"  
  
The identity of the girl's voice immediately came to Izzy's mind. He jumps out of his seat  
and runs over to her.  
  
"Chiharu?"  
  
"Daddy!"  
  
The young girl, Chiharu, was Izzy's daughter. She had the same colored hair as her father,  
but she also had a hairband to keep it in place. She was wearing a hunter green knee-length  
dress over a short sleeve lime green shirt. She also had on a pair of yellow socks and black  
shoes, with straps that ran across the foot to keep it in.  
  
"What are you doing here? Why aren't you in school?"  
  
"A fourth grader set off the sprinklers in his classroom by accident this morning. All of  
the teachers have to clean the mess up."  
  
"How did that happen?"  
  
"I don't know," she huffed, "but I was looking forward to learning about reading decimal  
numbers."  
  
Izzy blinked his eyes in confusion. "I thought you already knew how to do that."  
  
"Yeah, but I don't want anyone else to know I do. They'll think I'm a nerd."  
  
"There's nothing wrong with admitting that you're smarter than them. Besides, you shouldn't  
worry about what other people say about you..."  
  
  
======  
  
  
Unaware that Izzy is away from his console, Joe and the others wait patiently for a portal to  
appear. Suddenly, two Jagamon come running over a nearby hill and towards them.  
  
"Looks like we missed two," Joe said.  
  
Five more Jagamon then appear behind the first two, also running at them at full speed.  
  
"More like a group or two," one of his assistants stated.  
  
Before they knew it, the ground began to shake. Several of the Jagamon that they had just  
counted were running off in the direction of a nearby passage situated between two cliffs.  
  
"Anyone get the feeling that we missed an entire herd?" the other assistant shouted over the  
rumbling.  
  
And true to his words, a whole flock of Jagamon came charging over the hill. And they were  
all heading in their direction.  
  
"There must be hundreds of them!"  
  
"We're going to die!"  
  
"Izzy, this is Joe! We need that portal now!"  
  
  
======  
  
  
"Izzy! Izzy!"  
  
"Daddy... the console is talking."  
  
"That's just Joe, honey. I guess I should get to work creating that portal."  
  
"Izzy, we're in trouble! Get us out of here!"  
  
Izzy grabs the microphone on the console and speaks into it.  
  
"In trouble? What do you..."  
  
"Aaaaahhhh..."  
  
Suddenly, Joe's voice is replaced by a loud, crackling static. Fearing the worst, Izzy types  
as fast as humanely possible to open a portal to the sector. At the same time, he changes his  
communication channel from Joe's unit to the building's PA system.  
  
"Code blue, code blue! Weasel quail three point nineteen! All emergency personnel to Beta  
Portal at once! Repeat, code blue, weasel quail three point nineteen!"  
  
All of the personnel inside that very room went to their battlestations instantly. A  
dark-skinned young women with brown hair runs up and grabs Chiharu's right arm.  
  
"Take Chiharu to a safe place," Izzy told the woman as he continues to type away.  
  
"Let's get you out of here," the woman said to Chiharu as she pulled her towards the exit.  
  
"Did I do something wrong?" Chiharu asked her.  
  
"Of course not," the woman replied.  
  
As the two left, Izzy continued to type away, frantically attempting to open a portal.  
  
"Come on, come on..."  
  
He continued to tap away at the keys for what seemed like minutes, even though it had been  
only about 15 or 20 seconds. Finally, one of the room's two portal generators, this one  
located about a yard or two away from where Izzy was sitting, starts up. A portal began to  
materialize just as a squadron of eight men, all dressed in body armor, enter the room. The  
last two to enter were pulling a cart which had a defibrillator on top.  
  
Making a few final adjustments, the portal stabilizes and is now ready to be used. Izzy then  
jumps out of his seat and points to the person nearest to him.  
  
"Yoshi, I need you to keep this portal open as long as possible!"  
  
"I'm on it!"  
  
The Japanese young man slides his seat over to the console Izzy was just working at and  
starts typing in commands. Meanwhile, some of the armored soldiers are running into the  
portal already. Only the leader himself and the two who had pushed the cart in were still  
standing there.  
  
"You might need these," the leader suggested, holding out a helmet and a suit of body armor.  
  
Without hesitation, Izzy straps all of it on. But as he does, he can't help but worry about  
Joe and the others. He wondered if they were okay. He knew he couldn't live with  
himself if something had happened to them. It was his fault for stepping away from the  
console before opening an escape portal. To not be there when one of his best friends  
needed him was inexcusable.  
  
Finally, his helmet and armor were secured on his person, and he leaps into the portal. The  
squad leader heads in after him, followed by the two men that were pushing the cart.  
  
  
======  
  
  
More than halfway across the world, a dark room at night is illuminated by a lamp that had  
just been turned on. The hand that had turned the lamp on belonged to a brown-haired woman  
in her late thirties. She hadn't been lying in bed long, so her hair was still pretty much  
in place. She glances at the digital alarm clock next to the lamp, which reads '12:34 AM.'  
  
It was common that she'd lie in bed awake for hours on some nights. After all, her husband  
worked nights, so they rarely had the chance to sleep together. But this time, it was more  
than that. She had a bad feeling that something was wrong. Wrong with one her fellow former  
Digidestined.  
  
And when a friend is in trouble, Mimi Tachikawa can sense it from anywhere.  
  
"I hate it when I feel like this. It's as if I can tell when someone close to me is in  
trouble."  
  
Mimi pulls the bedsheets aside and hops out of her king-sized bed. Pink was still her  
favorite color, as evident by the nightgown she wore, which covered her body from neck to toe.  
She heads directly for a nearby door, which led into one of her many wardrobe closets. She  
goes in and comes out seconds later with a dark green windbreaker. She slips it on quickly  
and then goes for the door leading out of the room.  
  
Upon exiting the room and stepping into the dark hallway, she is greeted by one of her  
butlers. He blinks his eyes, wondering what she's doing out this late.  
  
"Mistress Mimi... I thought you had already retired for the night," the butler said, holding  
a lumiere in his right hand.  
  
"Jerry, I need you to go to the vault and get my Digivice for me."  
  
"Your Digivice, ma'am?"  
  
"It's urgent! Just get it and then bring it to my office."  
  
"Right away, my lady."  
  
Jerry bows before Mimi before walking off towards the vault. Mimi heads off the other way,  
and although she didn't have any light to guide her way, she knew the hallways like the back  
of her hand. And it wouldn't take her long to find her office...  
  
  
======  
  
  
Back in the Digital World, Izzy is now with the entire squadron as they exit the portal.  
Immediately they begin to look around for Joe Kido and his team of researchers.  
  
"We've spotted a whole mess of footprints, sir!" one of the squad members reported.  
  
"Well, follow them and see where they lead!" the squad leader shouted back.  
  
The squad member saluted and then led the others down the footprint trail and towards a  
passage that lied in between two tall cliffs. They didn't have to go far to find something.  
It was part of a human's body. Everything from the waist down looked pretty much intact,  
except for the broken bones and a pool of blood under it. But above the waist, there was  
absolutely nothing. Though it was easy to see that this particular man had been split in two  
as a result of whatever had happened.  
  
Izzy and the squad leader were waiting just outside the passage, unaware of what the team  
had just found. Izzy was now holding a magnifying glass, which he was using to identify the  
tracks that had been left on the ground.  
  
"These Digimon tracks all belong to Jagamon," Izzy concluded. "There must have been a  
stampede."  
  
"Looks like it," the squad leader agreed.  
  
The two then looked to where the passage narrowed. There were a whole mess of footprints  
around that area. Many overlapped each other, making it tougher for Izzy to figure out just  
how many Jagamon there were.  
  
"I don't know how many there were, but it must have been enough that they all couldn't  
squeeze into the passage in time. I bet a good number of them got deleted in all of the  
chaos."  
  
"Do you think the research team got to safety?"  
  
"I hope so. I sure hope so."  
  
Suddenly, one of the squad members comes running out. He stops in front of the leader and  
stands at attention, saluting him.  
  
"Sir, I think you both should see this."  
  
Izzy and the leader looked at each other before turning back to the soldier and nodding. He  
then leads them into the passage.  
  
  
======  
  
  
The lights were on in the room that Mimi used as an in-house office. Scattered all across the  
room were all sorts of cooking materials. Pots and pans, cookbooks, recipe cards... you name  
it. Probably the only clean place in the entire room was Mimi's maple-colored desk. On it  
were her 17" computer monitor, keyboard, and mouse, as well as a stack of binders and several  
neatly piled stacks of forms and other paperwork.  
  
The computer had already booted up and Mimi was in the process of connecting to the Internet.  
Seconds later, she pulled down her 'Favorite Websites' menu and started looking for one in  
particular. After opening a few folders, she finds the correct link.  
  
At that moment, Jerry opens the door and enters, holding a red velvet pillow that had Mimi's  
digivice on it.  
  
"Mistress Mimi? Your Digivice, as you requested."  
  
"Could you bring it here, Jerry? I'm kinda tied up right now."  
  
Jerry nods and walks over to the desk. He puts the pillow down on an empty space on the desk.  
We can now see that the Digivice no longer looks like the old one she had when she first went  
to the Digiworld 28 years ago. It instead resembled the D-3s that were used by the second  
generation three years later. Izzy, with the help of Gennai, had created extra D-3s for the  
older members of the Japanese Digidestined. The new D-3s would allow them to gain entry into  
the Digiworld in case of an emergency.  
  
And just as every D-3 was designated by color, Mimi's was a bright carnation pink.  
  
"Is there anything else you require?" Jerry asked.  
  
"That's all! Thanks!"  
  
Jerry bows and then heads for the door. Mimi takes the D-3 off of the pillow and holds it  
in her hand. On the screen of her computer monitor was a map of the world. There were  
about four or five red circles flashing in different parts of the world, but all in the  
Eastern Hemisphere. The circles represented where a Digiport was currently open.  
  
The one that grabbed her interest though was coming from Osaka, Japan.  
  
"Izzy works at a research lab there. They must have been working on one of their experiments  
in the Digiworld. I guess I'd better start there."  
  
Mimi has the picture center in on Japan. The screen begins to display some more information  
regarding where the port is open.  
  
"Western Quadrant, Sector 3.19. Where the hell is that?"  
  
Mimi shrugs her shoulders as she presses the Return key and then holds up her D-3 to the  
computer screen. The screen then begins to glow white.  
  
"I just hope I'm dressed enough for wherever I'm going."  
  
Mimi is enveloped in white light just before she is sucked into the computer monitor and to  
her intended destination.  
  
  
======  
  
  
Izzy was completely stunned and dismayed at the exact same time. His worst fear had come true.  
  
Before him lies the now trampled body of one of his best friends, Joe Kido. Out of the three  
researchers, Joe's body was the only one that remained completely intact. But the sight of  
his partially smashed skull, major tears where skin should be, and a hole about three inches  
in diameter where his heart would be were more than enough to make Izzy fall to his knees  
and start to weep for his fallen comrade.  
  
"Why?" Izzy shouted aloud. "Why did I have to turn away for that one minute? If I would have  
opened that portal like I should have, you'd still be alive!"  
  
Izzy pounds the ground with his fist, as he then lets out a scream of anger. The entire  
squad watches silently as Izzy continues to cry for his best friend. The wind picks up  
slightly as a few pieces of paper... the notes that Joe and his team had made today... are  
blown out of the canyon and are scattered off in different directions.  
  
  
  
Author's Notes for this Episode:  
If you don't remember what the Jagamon looked like, they were the same Digimon that,  
ironically enough, stampeded over a Meramon in the 'Digimon Tamers' series. That's episode  
25 from that season, "Brave New Digital World."  
  
This fanfic assumes that the '25 years later' ending from 'Digimon Adventure 02' did take  
place. Everyone in the world has a Digimon of their own. All of the former Japanese  
Digidestined do have kids, and by my inference, most, if not all of them, are married.  
  
Note though that the only confirmed marriages between two Japanese Digidestined are the only  
two mentioned in the show itself: Matt/Sora and Ken/Yolei. If I say that Mimi is also married  
to a Digidestined, but not a Japanese one, and she still lives in New York... then it should  
be easy to figure out who married her.  
  
The decision for that couple is one made for this fanfic only, and does not change the ending  
for a previous Digimon fanfic of mine, "Courting Miss Mimi."  
  
As for the Matt/Sora coupling... personally, I prefer the Tai/Sora coupling. But, as any good  
author would do, I will not bash the Matt/Sora coupling in anyway, nor will I attempt to  
change it so that Tai and Sora do get together. There will be some scenes later on with Tai  
and Sora, but by no means will it be an attempt to hook those two up.  
  
Military personnel, or those of you who know someone in the military, might be aware that  
instead of letters of the alphabet, they use full words to signify those letters. Such as  
'Bravo' for B or 'Charlie' for C (I'd do A, but I don't remember what word it stood for).  
If deciphered properly, Izzy's message through the PA system meant WQ, sector 3.19. 'Weasel'  
standing for W and 'Quail' standing for Q. And WQ is just shorthand for 'Western Quadrant.'  
Understand now?  
  
And to round things off... why did I have Joe die first? Simply put, I don't have a way that  
he could contribute to the ending of this fanfic. There's no love or hate lost at all.  
Although I like some Digidestined more than others, I don't hate any of them.  
  
But if it'll make any of the Joe fans happy... I will kill off one of my three favorite  
Digidestined before this fanfic ends. I won't tell you which one, though. That's a surprise.  
Of course, that only helps if you know who those three are.  
  
If you don't already know, I'm not telling you.  
  
I'm also not going to tell how many 'destined do get the axe either. You'll have to keep  
reading to find out!  
  
  
That's all I'll explain for now, as things such as how the Digidestined's kids were named and  
why the older 'destined had their Digivices reconfigured into D-3s will be explained in later  
chapters, when they are more relevant to plot details.  
  
***** Next Episode - Not an Ordinary Day *****  
The other Japanese Digidestined learn of Joe's passing. But will they lash out at Izzy or  
focus their search on the true killer? But two won't hear the news as of yet. One's not on  
Earth anymore, while the other might find a vacation in Paris to be her last. 


	2. Not An Ordinary Day

"The Circle of the Digidestined," written by Freedom Fighter  
  
Disclaimer: None of the characters, human or Digimon, belong to me, the writer.  
  
Author's Warning: The following fanfic features gruesome character death, both of the human  
and Digimon kind, violence of varying levels, some profane language, and some suggestive  
situations. Please do not read this fanfic if you're underage or feel that you cannot handle  
any of said features.  
  
This particular episode features suggestive dialogue and a word of profanity.  
  
======  
  
  
A portal appears in the middle of an oasis somewhere in the Digiworld. It opens up in the  
pond, but very close to the shoreline. Suddenly, one foot steps out and into the pond, then  
the other. Then the rest of Mimi's body comes out, with her modified Digivice in hand.  
  
It was then that Mimi realized she was standing ankle-deep in water, enough to cover up her  
pink fuzzy slippers.  
  
"My favorite pair of slippers!" Mimi cried. "They're ruined!"  
  
She hops out and takes a seat on the nearby grass. She takes the slippers off of her now wet  
feet and starts shaking them in an attempt to speed up the drying process.  
  
"Those slippers cost seventy dollars! Izzy's gonna hear from me the next time I see him!"  
  
Mimi then began to hear voices. Several of them. She got up from the ground and looked  
around to see where they were coming from. It doesn't take her long to spot five men and  
their Digimon walking over a nearby sand dune and heading in the direction of the oasis.  
  
"I wonder if they might know anything," Mimi thought.  
  
She slides her feet back into her soggy slippers and starts waving her hands in the air, as if  
she was trying to get their attention. But just as she opened her mouth to yell, a bunch of  
vines appear out of nowhere and wrap themselves around Mimi's arms and legs.  
  
And just as quickly as they appeared, the vines pull Mimi into some nearby bushes, making it  
rustle slightly before going dead silent.  
  
  
***** Episode Two - Not an Ordinary Day (10.22.02) *****  
  
  
In the canyon where three innocent researchers lost their lives to a Jagamon stampede, several  
soldiers had gone back through the portal to the lab. They had done so to get some stretchers  
for the mutilated bodies of their fellow workers.  
  
Izzy knew there had to be a reason for the Jagamon to stampede like that. Especially for so  
many to be involved. He watched as the military leader could only bow his head out of  
respect. There was nothing they could do.  
  
One of the soldiers who had stayed behind with them then runs up, holding a walkie talkie in  
his hand.  
  
"Sir, there's been a report of several hundred Jagamon stampeding through Sectors 3.20 and  
3.21."  
  
"Any casualties, human or Digimon?"  
  
"None to report in 3.20. But 3.21 was full of both humans and Digimon at the time, sir. I  
don't have exact numbers, but a number of Digimon have been deleted and several humans injured.  
Some fatally, I'm afraid."  
  
"What's going on? Jagamon usually have enough sense to avoid other humans and Digimon when  
they stampede."  
  
"That's right," Izzy interrupted, prompting the leader and the soldier to look at him. "The  
stampedes are never this big. Nor do they kill that many humans or Digimon. Usually, the  
deaths are by Digimon who couldn't get out of the way. Rarely do humans get caught in the  
melee, but it has happened before."  
  
"Just nothing on this big of a scale, Izzy. There had to be a reason for so many Digimon to  
gather and then stampede like this."  
  
"We'd better take some safety measures. Get all of the Digiworld portal monitors in Japan to  
evacuate all humans from the entire sector."  
  
"The entire sector? Do you realize how long that will take?"  
  
"It's the only way we can minimalize the number of future casualities. And if possible, try  
to round up any Digimon and have them evacuated as well."  
  
"And what about all of the Jagamon?"  
  
"The easiest way to get them to stop stampeding is to break them up. And for that to happen,  
we need humans and Digimon willingly to risk their lives to do so."  
  
"You mean..."  
  
"Yes. Contact the other Digidestined."  
  
  
======  
  
  
Back at the oasis, Mimi found herself staring at the Digimon who had used her vines to ensnare  
her. And in this situation, Mimi was relieved, yet frightened at the same time.  
  
"Palmon!"  
  
"Long time no see, Mimi!"  
  
"Don't do that! I was afraid... I was afraid... ewww, you don't even want to know why I was  
afraid! Just don't ever do that again!"  
  
"Sorry," Palmon, the plant-like Digimon, apologized. "Didn't realize you were that sensitive  
to my vines."  
  
"Don't say 'sensitive' and 'vines' in the same sentence!" Mimi then crosses her arms over her  
chest and grabs her shoulders with her hands. She then shuddered. "Just the thought of it  
all gives me goosebumps!"  
  
"I don't see what's so bad about those two words."  
  
"Ever seen a movie when plants attack humans?"  
  
"No. What are they like?"  
  
Mimi freaked out, releasing her grip on herself in the process. "I can't tell you that!"  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because I can't, alright?"  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"Stupid Michael," Mimi thought. "Why did I have to marry a guy who could only get aroused by  
watching adult films?"  
  
Mimi then remembered the group of men and Digimon that were heading their way. She peered back  
out of the bushes and saw that they were only a few hundred yards or so away now. She is about  
to jump back out again, but Palmon uses her vines to keep her down. Palmon even uses a few to  
clamp Mimi's mouth shut.  
  
Mimi tries to break free, but Palmon's too strong for her. She can only watch as the five men  
and their Digimon enter the oasis and immediately make a beeline for the pond.  
  
"Hey, there's a Digiport here!" one of them pointed out.  
  
Mimi's eyes became as big as saucers. She had forgotten to close the portal and now it was  
wide open for these strangers to use if they wanted to. She knew that if they went through  
and discovered that it led to her mansion in New York, they might be tempted to steal some  
valuables.  
  
Luckily, Palmon knew that as well, as she had been there in the bushes when the portal opened  
originally. Using her last free vine, Palmon reaches for Mimi's Digivice and presses a button  
on it. Instantly, the Digiport disappears just as the other men caught up to him.  
  
"What Digiport?" a second man asked.  
  
"There's nothing here," the third stated matter-of-factly.  
  
"Doofus!" came the insult from the fourth, slapping the first upside the head.  
  
"But it was right there," the first claimed, pointing to where the Digiport had been.  
  
"Stop goofing around."  
  
Mimi and Palmon directed their attention to the fifth and final man, who was the leader of the  
bunch. They could tell because of his unshaven chin and slightly wrinkled features,  
signifying that he was the oldest member of the group.  
  
"We have to get out of here before those soldiers find us here!"  
  
Mimi blinked. "Why would they be worried about that?" she asked herself.  
  
"Fuck that!" the second cursed. "They don't suspect a thing!"  
  
"Let's just kick back and go for a little swim," the first suggested.  
  
Before anyone knew it, those first two had stripped down completely so that they were wearing  
absolutely nothing. Upon seeing this, Mimi's eyes became as big as saucers once again, but for  
a completely different reason. That would only last a second or two though, as the two men  
wade into the pond.  
  
"We don't have time for a swim!" the leader yelled at the top of his lungs.  
  
The leader then pulls out a D-3 of his own, this one a beige brown. He starts pressing a few  
buttons on it, resulting in the opening of another Digiport.  
  
"If those scientists realize that we're the ones who started that stampede, we'll get busted  
for sure! Now, let's get back to the real world before someone traces our portal's location!"  
  
The two still-dressed henchmen jump into the portal immediately. All of the Digimon, none of  
which Mimi or Palmon can make out because of the monk suits they were wearing, head in next.  
The two that had gone into the water come running out, stark naked and again in plain view of  
Mimi's eyes. They grab their clothes and start to get dressed, but the leader yells at them  
again.  
  
"Move it! Get dressed AFTER you go through the portal!"  
  
The two nod, grab all of their clothes, and head into the portal.  
  
"And if you two imbeciles drip water on my brand new 13th-century carpet..."  
  
The leader walks in, still yelling at the duo as the portal closes behind him.  
  
With the portal gone, Palmon releases her grip on Mimi's limbs. Mimi turns around and starts  
yelling at Palmon again.  
  
"I told you not to do that ever again!"  
  
"I didn't want to risk getting caught by those guys! They're bad!"  
  
"You didn't have to go that far! Geese, if Michael ever finds out about this, he won't talk  
to me for a week!"  
  
Suddenly, Palmon has two vines grab a hold of the fabric of Mimi's nightgown. One vine each  
wrapped itself around a breast, giving them a light squeeze.  
  
"Rock solid? Someone must be feeling a little excitement..."  
  
"Palmon!" Mimi cried, grabbing the two vines and pulling them off of her.  
  
"Looks like there hasn't been much between you and Michael recently," Palmon smiled. "When  
they're that hard, that means you haven't done in at least a week..."  
  
"What goes on between him and I is our business! Now, let's find out what stampede those guys  
were talking about."  
  
Mimi stood up and started walking out of the oasis, in the direction where the group of men  
and their Digimon had come from. Palmon is walking beside her.  
  
"It's nice to see you again, Mimi."  
  
"Wrap me in those vines one more time, and there won't be a next time, Palmon!"  
  
  
======  
  
  
Back in the real world... specifically, the Odaiba district of Tokyo, the DPA were in the  
process of contacting the twelve individuals that made up the Japanese Digidestined. There  
was no need to get in touch with three of them, for obvious reasons, so they just had to get  
a hold of the other nine.  
  
One of them was typing away at a computer inside his own apartment. On both sides of the  
computer monitor lay several magazines, all opened up to different articles.  
  
"I would have never pictured myself write an article on this!" the typist exclaimed as he put  
the finishing touches on his report. It was titled 'Watching TV Shortens Your Life Span.'  
"If all of this is true, then I must have lost two or three years of my life alone by the time  
we defeated MaloMyotismon!"  
  
36-year old Takeru Takashi, or TK for short, pressed the 'print' button on his keyboard and  
then leaned back in his chair, propping his legs on top of his desk. The laser printer came  
to life, sitting on a table all the way on the other side of the room. It beeped everytime  
a section of the page was transferred to paper. TK knew that equated to about a beep per  
second or so.  
  
But then another beeping sound filled the room. It was coming from TK's cell phone. Reaching  
down to his belt clip, he takes the phone out and presses the answer button.  
  
"TK Takashi, freelance reporter!" he introduced himself as. But his joyful state was quickly  
replaced with one of seriousness. "I'm on it!"  
  
TK hangs the phone up and hops out of his seat. The printer continues to sound off as TK runs  
past and out of the room. He heads to the mini-safe that sat next to 14" TV on the nightstand  
beside his bed in his own sleeping quarters. He turns the combination dial left, right, and  
left again. TK pulls on the handle and opens the safe.  
  
Inside are several pieces of paper, as well as other memorabilia that TK had collected over  
the years. The most valuable of it, anyway. And buried under all of that is the object that  
he is searching for. His lime green D-3, of course.  
  
TK grabs it, closes the safe, and then runs back to the room where he was typing. He sits  
down and tries to log on to the Internet. After about a minute, he's online and already  
looking up the link to the real world/digital world composite map. Finding it, he clicks on  
the link and the page uploads immediately.  
  
"Let's see..." TK began to run a finger across the screen, searching for the right coordinates  
to open a Digiport to.  
  
"Okay, Odaiba, Travel Port 2 to Digital World, West Quadrant, Sector 3.23."  
  
Typing in the coordinates, the screen begins to glow white. TK holds up his D-3 to the  
monitor and prepares to be sucked in.  
  
"Here goes nothing!"  
  
He is sucked into his monitor, disappearing just as the printer stops beeping, signifying that  
all of his report had finished printing.  
  
  
======  
  
  
In a matter of seconds, TK arrives at his destination. It's another desert area, although a  
forest and a babbling brook are both visible off in the distance to the east. Other than that,  
TK could see absolutely nothing.  
  
"Where is everybody? Gee, I didn't know the situation was that bad! It really is a barren  
desert out here."  
  
TK then spots another portal opening a few feet in front of him. He steps back as several  
figures exit from it. But not human figures... Digimon figures.  
  
"Patamon!"  
  
"TK!"  
  
Digidestined and Digimon reunited once again for the first time in quite awhile. TK bent down  
to catch his friend in his arms as the two shared a mutual hug. But Patamon wasn't the only  
that had come through the portal. Veemon, Hawkmon, Gatomon, Armadillomon, and Wormmon were  
all there.  
  
"Howdy!" Armadillomon greeted.  
  
"It's nice to see you again," Hawkmon smiled.  
  
"If you're all here," TK looked at them, "then the others must be on the way."  
  
Sure enough, two more portals opened up in front of TK as the one that had spewed out the  
Digimon closed up. Out of the left one exits Ken, dressed in a trench coat. And out of the  
right came Yolei, wearing an apron over her clothes.  
  
"Coming from home, I take it."  
  
"You sure do know me well, TK!" Yolei exclaimed, flashing a thumbs-up happily.  
  
"You left the kids alone?" Ken asked, a bit worried as he turns towards his wife.  
  
"I ran next door and got Mr. Moto to watch them."  
  
Hawkmon runs over to Yolei and flies up to her shoulder.  
  
"I see you still have that job as a housewife," Hawkmon said.  
  
"I'm happy to see you too," Yolei smiled back, ignoring Hawkmon's comment and opting to hug  
him instead.  
  
"Ready to go?" Wormmon asked Ken.  
  
"Whenever you are, buddy."  
  
Just as another portal opens to the left of Yolei, the ground begins to shake heavily.  
  
"That must be it!" TK yelled. "The stampede that we're supposed to break up!"  
  
"You mean I got away from playing with the kids for this?"  
  
"Coming through!" shouted a voice from inside the portal.  
  
Yolei instantly identified the voice and stepped out of the way of the portal instinctively.  
Sure enough, Davis comes flying through, right past Yolei, and right into Ken, knocking them  
both down to the ground.  
  
"It's nice to see you too," Ken joked, now lying underneath Davis as he looked up to him, "but  
could you get off?"  
  
Davis hops off of Ken and then extends his hand to pull Ken off the ground.  
  
"Davish! Davish!"  
  
Veemon ran up and started jumping up and down in front of his Digidestined partner.  
  
"Veemon! How's the Digiworld been treating you?"  
  
"Same as usual! It's been great!"  
  
"Can we finish our reunion later?" TK interrupted. "We've got some Jagamon to take care of!"  
  
"But Cody's not here yet," Armadillomon stated.  
  
"Neither is Kari," Gatomon added.  
  
"Yeah!" Davis exclaimed. "We can't do this without Kari!"  
  
TK sighed. "I can't believe you're still thinking about Kari! She's been married 20 years  
already and you're still in love with her?"  
  
"You're one to talk, TK! I bet you still miss her as much as I do!"  
  
"Dang," TK thought, "when he's right, he's right. No matter how rarely he is."  
  
"Jagamon at twelve o'clock!" Ken exclaimed.  
  
The four humans and six Digimon got into a ready position as they watched the Jagamon appear  
in the distance. The line of Jagamon stretches a half a mile wide and several rows deep.  
TK gets his bearings straight and raises his D-3 into the air. Davis, Yolei, and Ken follow  
suit.  
  
"Digivolution time!" TK yelled.  
  
Patamon, Veemon, Hawkmon, and Wormmon all begin to digivolve to their champion-level forms.  
  
"Patamon digivolve to... Angemon!"  
  
"Veemon digivolve to... ExVeemon!"  
  
"Hawkmon digivolve to... Aquilamon!"  
  
"Wormmon digivolve to... Stingmon!"  
  
The four complete the digivolution process and now stand ready to battle.  
  
"Remember, we just want to break them up. Not delete them."  
  
"You got it, TK!"  
  
Angemon led the charge, with Aquilamon and Stingmon flying behind him and ExVeemon running  
through on the ground.  
  
"You two better help as well," Yolei told Gatomon and Armadillomon.  
  
Without hesitation, the champion and the rookie run after ExVeemon, ready to battle. The  
four humans look on, hoping that things turn out for the best.  
  
  
======  
  
  
Back at the first stampede site, the number of soldiers and scientists had tripled in the  
past few minutes. They had all come through the portal to inspect the scene for themselves.  
But the sight of the three trampled bodies didn't please them at all. All of the scientists  
were very close, so they were in disbelief when they discovered that these comrades were no  
longer with them.  
  
The portal leading back to the lab was still open as several soldiers entered with stretchers  
and blankets in hand. And entering the scene on foot at the same time were Mimi and Palmon.  
  
"What's with all of the scientists and soldiers?" Palmon asked her partner.  
  
"Beats me," Mimi replied. "Maybe it's one of those exercises that they do for practice. I  
think."  
  
A few of the scientists turn around and notice that Mimi and Palmon were standing there. Izzy  
also turns around. His face turns a bright red as he quickly runs over.  
  
"Mimi!"  
  
"Izzy? Is that you?"  
  
"Zip up your jacket! Why are you even dressed like that?"  
  
Mimi then remembered that her windbreaker was unzipped, meaning that her nightgown was visible  
by everyone in the area. She turns around and zips it up, blushing as she does so.  
  
"Just the person I wanted to see!" Mimi exclaimed, turning back around.  
  
"You aren't safe here," Izzy told her, trying to push her out of the area. "You should be  
with the others, stopping that Jagamon stampede. They're over in 3.23."  
  
"Stampede? You mean the ones those guys were talking about?"  
  
Izzy stopped pushing for a second and instead stared Mimi right in the face. "What guys?"  
  
"The ones over by the oasis," Palmon told him, pointing over the hill.  
  
"I had a feeling something was wrong, so I digi-ported here from home. And then I nearly ran  
into those guys. One of them said they didn't want some scientists to realize that they  
started the stampede. They then used a Digiport to escape to the real world."  
  
"How many were there, Mimi? Tell me!"  
  
"Calm down! There were ten altogether. Five men and five Digimon."  
  
"I knew there was something suspicious about that stampede."  
  
"You think they did it on purpose? Did something happen?"  
  
"Well..."  
  
Suddenly, cries of sorrow can be heard from the small crowd of scientists as the first  
stretcher makes it way towards the portal. The two soldiers pushing the stretcher already had  
a blanket draped over the body.  
  
"Oh my God," Mimi gasped. "You mean..."  
  
"Yes," Izzy nodded sadly. "Three of my best scientists, trampled to death by Jagamon."  
  
Izzy then took a breath before continuing.  
  
"And one of them was Joe."  
  
That made both Mimi and Palmon do a double take. "Say what?"  
  
"Joe. He was one of the scientists."  
  
"Joe? Joe Kido? Poor Joe... he's..."  
  
"Dead. And it's my fault."  
  
Upon hearing thought, Mimi's feelings quickly changed from sadness to anger. She grabs Izzy  
by the collar and starts shaking him furiously.  
  
"Your fault? You mean you killed him?"  
  
"I didn't kill him!" Izzy exclaimed, as Mimi stops shaking him. "I just... couldn't get him  
out of harm's way in time. I was distracted."  
  
"Distracted? Distracted by what, Izzy Izumi? You turn your head away for one minute, your  
best friend dies, and you blame it on a simple distraction?"  
  
"Chiharu had wandered into the lab! They closed her school down because someone set off the  
sprinklers. I was trying to figure out what to do with her when it all unfolded."  
  
Tears started to flow freely from Mimi's eyes. "You liar!"  
  
"I'm not lying!"  
  
"You killed him! You killed him, you bastard!"  
  
Izzy couldn't believe that Mimi didn't believe his story. After all, it was true. But now he  
was more concerned about Mimi, who had fallen to her knees and was starting to cry into her  
arms.  
  
"Mimi, I'm sorry. I really am."  
  
"I wish you were the one who was killed instead of Joe! Maybe then you'd learn more about  
responsibility!"  
  
Mimi leaped up, trying to tackle Izzy to the ground. But she doesn't reach him, as someone  
had wrapped his arms around her from behind. That happened to be the military leader.  
  
"I've got her, boss."  
  
"No," Izzy sighed, putting his hand up. "Let her go. Whatever she's going to do to me, I  
deserve it."  
  
Without objection, the man does release Mimi. And as expected, she runs over and punches  
Izzy in the face. He falls to the ground, slightly dazed and with his nose now bleeding, but  
is otherwise okay. The squad leader runs over to help Izzy to his feet and provide a  
handkerchief to help stop the bleeding. But Izzy turns down both offers.  
  
"Go ahead, Mimi! Beat me to death if you want! Yes, if I wasn't distracted, I could have  
saved Joe and the others. But I'm telling the truth about Chiharu running in. And I won't  
deny that I should've paid more attention out here than to her. But killing me won't bring  
Joe back! Nothing can! He's gone, Mimi. He's gone..."  
  
Those last two words were enough to calm Mimi down. She starts wailing loudly again as she  
runs over to Izzy again. Only this time, she leans into Izzy's chest and starts crying into  
it. Izzy wraps his arms around her and starts rubbing her back reassuredly.  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
Palmon walked up and wrapped her arms around Izzy's left leg, seeking comfort as she tried to  
keep from crying as well.  
  
"I don't mean to interrupt," the leader jumped in, "but I just got a report that the  
Digidestined were successful in bringing an end to the stampede."  
  
"Tell them to stay put," Izzy told him. "I'll be there in a few minutes."  
  
The leader nods, then walks back over to the canyon to help out his men. Izzy continues to  
stand there as Mimi continues to cry into his shirt and Palmon hangs on to his leg.  
  
  
======  
  
  
Paris, back in the real world...  
  
The sun had risen over the horizon just minutes ago, yet the streets were already filled with  
motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians, all trying to get to work or school before traffic got  
really bad.  
  
In a penthouse suite inside a local four-star hotel, 39-year old Sora Takenouchi was already  
up and about, dressed in a business suit and leafing through a binder full of preliminary  
designs for kimonos, crop tops, pleated skirts, and other articles of clothing.  
  
But her browsing is interrupted when she hears the sound of someone knocking on the door. Sora  
puts the binder down on a nearby table and walks over to the door, her dark blue high heels  
clicking all the way there. She opens the door and sees the face of Catherine Bouveaux.  
Formerly the Digidestined of France, she now serves as Sora's booking agent for fashion shows  
in Europe and Western Asia.  
  
"Bonjour!" Catherine greeted happily. She was wearing an orange square neck short sleeve  
shirt and an ankle-length yellow skirt.  
  
"Bonjour, Catherine. Happy this morning, I see."  
  
"I'm more than happy! I'm elated! Francois asked me to marry him this morning!"  
  
"Got over Jean-Pierre that quickly, huh?"  
  
"Jean-Pierre's been over me! He already got married to some woman named Marie-Antoinette.  
Three days after we broke up!"  
  
"I remember you telling me that. He wasn't the right guy for you anyway."  
  
"That's why I'm happy about Francois today! He's a perfect gentleman! I've never met anyone  
like him!"  
  
"I'm glad to hear that. Don't forget to invite Matt and me to your wedding! Once he gets  
back from living on the space station, that is."  
  
"Oh, I could never forget you! I don't know where I'd be without you!"  
  
"That makes two of us," Sora agreed.  
  
Sora then ushers Catherine in before closing the door behind her. The two then walk over to  
the suite's living quarters, where Sora picks her binder up from the table.  
  
"Everything ready for the show tonight?" Sora asked.  
  
"Models, clothing, seating arrangements... all taken care of! You don't have a thing to  
worry about!"  
  
Suddenly, both woman hear a loud roar from outside. They run right to the window and look in  
the direction of the Arc de Triomphe. There, they see a large Digiport open up.  
  
And out of it come two DarkTyrannomon, who begin to start causing chaos in the immediate area.  
  
"Catherine... we may have something to worry about after all."  
  
  
  
Additional Author's Notes for this Episode:  
I think it's self-explanatory what Mimi meant about being afraid of vines. At least all of  
the adults, who should be the only ones reading this in the first place, should understand.  
  
In that same scene was a Gunsmith Cats reference. In the very first scene of the very first  
issue of the 'Gunsmith Cats' manga, Rally, the lead character, is in the middle of target  
practice in her shooting range. All of a sudden, Minnie May, who is smaller than Rally, enters  
out of nowhere, grabs Rally's breasts with her hands, and remarks, 'Gee Rally, do I feel a  
little excitement here?' In this episode, a closely matching scene with Mimi and Palmon.  
  
And unlike my fanfic "The Detectives Kamiya," Sora and Catherine work together and are good  
friends here. But in that fic, they work together yet hate each other's guts. Just because  
Catherine slept with Tai before Sora did. Wondering what the connection between those two  
ladies and Tai is this time around? Stay tuned...  
  
  
***** Next Episode - An American Digidestined in Paris *****  
The Digidestined are stunned by the news of Joe's death as they try to figure out why it had to  
happen. Meanwhile, on her way back to New York to get Tai, Mimi finds out about the rampaging  
Digimon in Paris! Will Tai and Mimi get there in time to lend Sora and Catherine a hand? 


	3. An American Digidestined in Paris

"The Circle of the Digidestined," written by Freedom Fighter  
  
Disclaimer: None of the characters, human or Digimon, belong to me, the writer.  
  
Author's Warning: The following fanfic features gruesome character death, both of the human  
and Digimon kind, violence of varying levels, some profane language, and some suggestive  
situations. Please do not read this fanfic if you're underage or feel that you cannot handle  
any of said features.  
  
This particular episode features suggestive dialogue and a few words of profanity.  
  
======  
  
  
In the middle of a desert area in Sector 3.23 of the West Quadrant, a Digiport begins to  
materialize. With TK and Ken helping their fellow Digimon direct all of the Jagamon back  
towards their proper places, only Davis and Yolei are there to greet the newcomer.  
  
But as the figure exits from the portal, Yolei begins to scream in fear.  
  
"Eeeeeekkkkk! Run for your lives! The worst evil to ever befall the world has arrived!"  
  
Yolei hides behind Davis, seeking shelter from the so-called 'worst evil in the world.' And  
he wore a business suit and held a suitcase in one hand and a D-3 in the other.  
  
"Yolei, it's just Cody!" Davis exclaimed.  
  
"You don't understand!" Yolei shouted, grabbing Davis's shirt. "He's a lawyer!"  
  
"Ha ha, very funny Yolei," Cody said sarcastically, stepping towards the duo as the portal  
behind him closes up. "Lawyers aren't evil."  
  
"Yes they are! Every lawyer that I've ever hired to defend me lost! They do it on purpose  
just so they can take my money! The vandals..."  
  
"That wouldn't happen if you'd hire me to take care of your legal troubles."  
  
"Well, whenever I try to call you, you're always busy on some other case! Whatever happened  
to helping out a friend?"  
  
"What can I say? The Hida and Yuka firm is one of the most prestigious in all of Japan."  
  
"Yolei," Davis interrupted, "don't you always hire the same lawyer all the time? That Satoshi  
Tajiri guy?"  
  
"His name is Satoshi Takimi! And I only hire him because he's the cheapest lawyer in Tokyo."  
  
"No wonder you always lose," Cody snickered.  
  
"Hey! It's hard to hire a top-quality lawyer when you're a mother of three!"  
  
Armadillomon appears out of nowhere and runs up to the group. Cody squats down and drops his  
suitcase long enough to give Armadillomon a big hug.  
  
"Armadillomon! I missed you so much!"  
  
"Me too, Cody. You missed your biweekly playdate with me last Saturday."  
  
"Sorry about that. The Berkley case required regular meetings with my client over the  
weekend."  
  
TK and Ken, returning from their duties, see Cody and go over to greet him.  
  
"Look who showed up at last!" TK exclaimed.  
  
"Nice to see you too, TK!" Cody shot back as he stood up and shook hands with TK. He then  
turns to Ken and does the same.  
  
"Any chance of sending a criminal or two my way to prosecute?" Cody asked the detective.  
  
"I can't pull them out of thin air," Ken told the lawyer. "They come when they come."  
  
Veemon, Patamon, Gatomon, Hawkmon, and Wormmon walk onto the scene, having finished their  
job of rerouting the Jagamon. They all say hello to Cody as they head over to their partners.  
  
"Where is everybody else?" Cody asked, looking around.  
  
"We don't know," TK shrugged. "Izzy just told us to take care of the Digimon threat. And  
Matt's up on the space station for another two months."  
  
"Joe should be with Izzy," Yolei butted in, remembering that the two worked together. "And  
I think it's still nighttime in New York, so Mimi might be fast asleep."  
  
"What about Tai?" Davis asked, wondering where the Digidestined's original leader was.  
  
"I'm not sure," Cody answered. "Maybe Kari knows... whenever she gets here."  
  
As if on cue, another portal opens right where Cody's had been. Kari steps out, carrying a  
duffel bag in her left hand and her D-3 in her right.  
  
"Sorry I'm late... school had just gotten out and I wanted to make sure I had all of the  
assignments they turned in today with me."  
  
"What's up, professor?" Yolei asked jokingly. "Which letter of the alphabet did those first  
graders of yours learn today?"  
  
"Yolei... what are you talking about?"  
  
"You mean you don't teach first graders anymore?" TK asked as the portal behind Kari closes.  
  
"Nope," Kari shook her head. "I'm teaching fifth graders now."  
  
"Fifth graders?" Ken wondered curiously as Gatomon leaps into Kari's arms. "Why the jump?"  
  
"Kari can teach whomever she wants," Davis stated, standing up for Kari's decision. "I'm sure  
she has a good reason for doing so."  
  
"I taught first grade for eleven years. You get tired of teaching the same old stuff every  
year. Besides, it feels weird when I have to 'learn' the alphabet with my students."  
  
"I don't see what's so bad about that."  
  
"You wouldn't," Yolei smirked. "You didn't learn the alphabet by heart until third grade."  
  
"Hey!"  
  
The group shares a hearty laugh... that's cut short when another portal opens and Izzy, Mimi,  
and Palmon pop out. And the group's faces of happiness start turning upside down when they  
see the grave look on Izzy's face, the saddened look on Palmon's, and the tearful one on Mimi's.  
  
"Guys... we have some bad news."  
  
  
***** Episode Three - An American Digidestined in Paris (10.29.02) *****  
  
  
Izzy looked at the group as he took a head count.  
  
"Where are Tai, Sora, and Matt?" he asked the group.  
  
Kari spoke up on behalf of her brother. "Tai's in New York. The United Nations are meeting  
to decide whether or not to go to war with East Antarctica."  
  
"Dang East Antarcticans," Yolei cursed under her breath, "with their alien technology! I told  
you the Earth should have never allowed the citizens of Neptune to come here."  
  
"But their planet froze over in 2015," Izzy stated matter-of-factly.  
  
"And it's their fault that it happened! They want to take over the whole planet!"  
  
"Okay Yolei," Ken interrupted, "you've got to stop buying those tabloid magazines."  
  
"Wait a minute..." Mimi jumped in. "Tai called me the other day and said he'd be in New York.  
He told me where he was staying."  
  
"Why didn't you say anything earlier?"  
  
"Because it slipped my mind, Izzy! I'm still getting over the fact that Joe is dead!"  
  
There was a collective gasp from the six 'new' Digidestined and their Digimon.  
  
"Thanks a lot," Izzy shouted at her. "I was going to ease into that! But you had to go and  
blow the big surprise!"  
  
"Big surprise? It's your fault he's dead! Remember?"  
  
"Izzy?"  
  
Kari stepped forward, as curious as the others to find out what exactly happened.  
  
"What does Mimi mean by 'it's your fault he's dead?'"  
  
Izzy sighed before turning around and glaring at Mimi. He then turns back towards the others.  
  
"It's a long story. I think if we head to the lab back at Osaka, I can explain exactly what  
happened."  
  
"Let's go then! I've got beauty sleep to catch up on!"  
  
"Not so fast, Mimi. You won't be coming with us."  
  
"Why? Because I blew the 'big' surprise?"  
  
"I need you to go back to New York and get Tai."  
  
"Why me?"  
  
"Because," Izzy smirked, "you two have met at night before."  
  
Mimi began to get a little frightened of Izzy. "You wouldn't dare..."  
  
"Try me."  
  
With no way out, Mimi sighs before pulling out her D-3 and setting the coordinates for New  
York. A portal opens behind her as she and Palmon turn to walk towards it.  
  
"You can be such a conniving little jerk sometimes, Izzy Izumi!"  
  
"Takes one to know one, Mimi Tachikawa!"  
  
Mimi grumbles under her breath as she enters the portal, with Palmon in tow. The portal then  
closes, leaving the others to wonder what Izzy meant by his cryptic comment.  
  
And then, it starts to come to all of them.  
  
"You mean they..." Ken began.  
  
"As much of a ditz as Mimi can be sometimes, I'm not going to tell you."  
  
"Why not?" Yolei whined.  
  
"I promised not to tell anyone. And I intend to keep it. Besides, we have more things to  
worry about than that right now."  
  
Izzy takes out his D-3 and punches in the coordinates for the Osaka Digimon Research Laboratory.  
A portal opens up ten feet away from him. He then turns towards the others, waiting for them  
to go in.  
  
"So, are we going or not?"  
  
Slowly but surely, the group makes their way into the portal. Izzy brings up the rear so that  
the portal closes behind him.  
  
  
======  
  
  
In a flash of light, Mimi and Palmon are now standing inside her makeshift office in her  
mansion. Mimi immediately sits down in her swivel chair and opens one of her desk drawers.  
  
"Now, where did I put the address of that hotel?" Mimi asked herself aloud, trying to jog her  
memory.  
  
"Can I help?" Palmon asked.  
  
"That's okay. It shouldn't take long... yes, there it is!"  
  
Mimi pulled out a small business card for the Crowne Plaza at the United Nations Hotel.  
She types in the address into the Digiport Generator webpage.  
  
"304 East 42nd Street," Mimi announced aloud, checking to make sure the address on the screen  
matched the one on the card. "Now all I have to do is type in the address here and the  
portals should connect."  
  
As Mimi typed her address in, the door to the room opens. Jerry enters.  
  
"Back so soon, Mistress Mimi?"  
  
Mimi shook her head. "Nope. Just a quick transfer through Digiports, that's all."  
  
Jerry then noticed that Palmon was also there, so he decided to say hello to her.  
  
"Good evening, Miss Palmon."  
  
"Hello!" Palmon greeted, bowing gracefully.  
  
"Is there anything I can get you?"  
  
"Now that you mention it..."  
  
Palmon stops when a flash of white light fills the room. Mimi has already managed to open a  
Digiport to Tai's hotel.  
  
"We don't have time for frivolous requests, Palmon!" Mimi then turns towards Jerry and gives  
him a command. "Just make sure the computer's still on so that I can return later on."  
  
"Um..." Jerry began, "how much longer can I expect you to be gone?"  
  
Palmon jumps into the computer screen as Mimi answers Jerry's question. "Don't worry about it.  
Just make sure to help Monty out if he needs anything."  
  
"As you wish," Jerry bowed as Mimi was sucked into the portal.  
  
  
======  
  
  
Across the Atlantic Ocean, two DarkTyrannomon were destroying buildings in Paris.  
  
"Sacre bleu!" shouted one fleeing French man. "Godzilla has come to Paris! And he's got a  
twin brother!"  
  
About a quarter mile away from where the two Digimon were rampaging, a taxi cab screeches to  
a halt. Sora and Catherine hop out, with the latter handing the driver a ten franc bill.  
  
"Keep the change," Catherine shouted as she closed the door. The taxi then did a 180 degree  
turn and beelined out of the area as fast as possible.  
  
Catherine runs over to Sora, who is looking a few blocks up the boulevard. The two  
DarkTyrannomon were slowly heading towards them, but neither of the Digimon had spotted them.  
  
"Do you think zey know we are Digidestined?" Catherine asked Sora.  
  
"Who knows? I don't know how they got out of the Digiworld, but we've got to get them back  
there before someone gets seriously hurt!"  
  
The two women start looking for an Internet cafe. Luckily, they spot one just across the  
street.  
  
"We just need one computer on to access a port from the Digiworld," Sora yelled.  
  
"There!" Catherine pointed to a computer already on and logged onto the Internet. Sora  
reached into her purse and pulled out her D-3. She started pushing buttons on it, trying to  
find out where their Digimon were.  
  
"We've got to get Biyomon and Floramon here right away."  
  
"Floramon never learned how to digivolve past champion, Sora! Her champion form, Kiwimon,  
won't be strong enough to stop those two."  
  
"Okay then. We'll just have to find Biyomon then."  
  
Finally completing her setup of her D-3, Sora aims for the computer monitor.  
  
"We just have to pray that she's not dozing off anywhere."  
  
  
======  
  
  
High atop the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 39-year old diplomat Tai Kamiya was typing away at his  
laptop. Doing some research to back up his view on the escalating tensions in East Antarctica.  
And he was getting frustrated doing so, as evident by a slamming of his fist on his desk.  
  
"I can't believe this! They're supposed to be an advanced alien race, yet I can't find one  
website about their work! All there is are online newspaper clippings... and all the shit  
they're spewing isn't worth it!"  
  
Tai leaned back in his chair and sighed. "For once, I wish something would fall right into  
my lap."  
  
Tai gets his wish when his laptop monitor glows white and Mimi comes leaping out of it,  
knocking them both out of the chair and onto the floor. And after tumbling a few feet, they  
both come to a stop with Mimi lying on top of Tai.  
  
"Tai," Palmon shouted as she came out of the laptop monitor, "we've got a surprise..."  
  
Palmon then saw the precarious position that Mimi and Tai were in, letting out a gasp of  
surprise herself.  
  
"That's the last time I wish for something when I don't mean it! Those wishes always come  
true!"  
  
Mimi jumps up and turns away immediately, trying to hide her blushing face.  
  
"I can't believe it happened again," Mimi thought. "I bet Tai thinks I came here to be with  
him. At least my jacket was closed this time. Stupid Digivice! Izzy's really gonna get it  
when I get back to Osaka."  
  
Tai gets up and puts a hand on Mimi's shoulder, immediately catching onto the reason why he  
thinks Mimi is in his room.  
  
"Let me guess. Michael cheated on you and this is one of those revenge things in which you'll  
sleep with me to get back at him, right?"  
  
"You couldn't be farther from the truth, Tai Kamiya!" Mimi yelled angrily.  
  
"Then what..."  
  
Turning around, Mimi starts to yell in Tai's face. "I need you to come with me to Japan."  
  
"Japan? Mimi, I can't go back home now. I was sent here to provide Japan's stance on going  
to war with East Antarctica."  
  
"Tai, something bad has happened in the Digiworld."  
  
"Bad? Like what?"  
  
"I'll explain later. We've just got to go now."  
  
"At least that explains why Palmon was here. I thought you were thinking of doing some  
freaky threesome."  
  
Palmon wraps Tai up with his vines, trapping him on the floor as Mimi kicks him several times  
in the stomach.  
  
"Is that all you ever think about?" Palmon asked.  
  
"For someone who's happily married, you sure think perverted a lot!" Mimi exclaimed.  
  
"I'm a man!" Tai shouted over the beatings. "That's what men do!"  
  
Satisfied with her work, Mimi stops kicking Tai and walks over to the window. Palmon lets him  
go as she heads back to Tai's laptop.  
  
"Geese Mimi, you can't take a joke, can you?"  
  
Mimi grumbled as she picked up the fallen chair and propped it back up. She then sat in it  
and scooted in under the desk, where she proceeded to boot up the site with the Digiport map  
again.  
  
"How did you know what room I was in anyway?" Tai asked. "I don't remember telling you."  
  
"I learned a few tricks from Izzy," Mimi said with a smile.  
  
"Really? Were there any other tricks he taught you?" Tai emphasized the word 'tricks' with a  
wry smile on his face.  
  
Mimi growled angrily once again. "Unlike my relationship with you, mine with Izzy didn't  
require sex to be successful!"  
  
"Holy shit!"  
  
"What? Surprised that Izzy is actually less perverted than you are?"  
  
"Will you forget that! Look at this!"  
  
Tai pointed at the map on the screen, where there were red circles flashing all over both  
Japan and France.  
  
"Why are there so many Digiports open in Japan? And in France?"  
  
"Izzy gathered all of the Digidestined in Japan to take care of a Jagamon stampede. But I  
don't know why there are so many open in France."  
  
"All of the ports look centralized over Paris. A rogue Digimon must have gotten into the  
real world."  
  
"We'd better stop it then."  
  
Mimi raises her D-3 up to the screen while simultaneously clicking on one of the ports into  
Paris. The screen lights up as Tai, Mimi, and Palmon are sucked in.  
  
  
======  
  
  
It only took a few seconds, but the trio leaped out of a computer inside a building. Luckily,  
no one was sitting in front of it this time.  
  
"This place is empty?" Mimi wondered as she looked around the empty interior. "I thought  
Internet cafes were supposed to be open 24 hours a day!"  
  
"Wait... could it be?"  
  
Mimi and Palmon turned to see Tai pointing out the front pane. About ten feet away, on the  
other side of the window, stood two women looked up at the sky. And one of them looked like...  
  
"Sora!" Tai exclaimed. "What's Sora doing in France?"  
  
As Tai ran for the front door, Mimi began to think.  
  
"Isn't this the time of year she does those fashion shows of hers across Europe?"  
  
Mimi then notices Tai sprinting for the door. She and Palmon race after him.  
  
"Wait for us!"  
  
  
======  
  
  
"Do it, Birdramon!"  
  
Sora was shouting at the top of her lungs so that Biyomon, or rather Birdramon, who had  
digivolved the moment she had come out of the computer, could hear her. Birdramon was flying  
above the two DarkTyrannomon, surveying them before initiating any attacks.  
  
Finally, Birdramon flies into position, ready to fire off an attack.  
  
"Meteor Wing!"  
  
The attack hit one of the DarkTyrannomon in the left arm, sending him reeling. The other  
retaliates, firing a fire attack of his own.  
  
"Fire Blast!"  
  
Birdramon dodges the attack easily, then fires another Meteor Wing at her attacker. Meanwhile,  
Sora and Catherine watch from the ground, cheering Birdramon on.  
  
Suddenly, the door to the Internet cafe bursts open as Tai runs out.  
  
"Sora!"  
  
"Tai? What are you doing here?"  
  
"What's going on?" Tai asked before turning towards the three battling Digimon.  
  
"Looks like we've got a job to do," Mimi said, running out of the cafe with her D-3 ready.  
"Palmon, time to digivolve!"  
  
"Palmon digivolve to... Togemon!"  
  
After digivolving, Togemon runs off to the scene immediately to help Birdramon out.  
  
"You're here too?" Sora asked, surprised at seeing Tai and Mimi arrive together.  
  
"I'll explain later," Mimi replied. "We'd better get those two back to the Digiworld."  
  
"How long have they been out?" Tai asked.  
  
"At least ten to fifteen minutes," Catherine spoke up.  
  
"Catherine?" Tai's mouth was hanging wide open. He had totally forgotten that Catherine still  
lived in Paris, even after all of these years.  
  
"Could you two catch up later?" Mimi shouted, still sore over Tai's so-called jokes earlier.  
"We could use Agumon out here."  
  
"Right."  
  
Tai turned towards the monitor that Sora had used to reach Biyomon. He reached into his pocket  
to pull out his D-3... before slapping himself up against the head and remembering that he  
didn't have it with him.  
  
"It's in my suitcase! I've got to go back to New York to get it."  
  
"Well, go! We don't know if Birdramon and Togemon will be enough to stop those two."  
  
Tai ran back into the cafe and searches for the same Digiport he had used to get to Paris.  
Luckily, it was still open. He jumps back in, heading back to New York to get his D-3.  
  
  
  
Additional Author's Notes for this Episode:  
Does the name Satoshi Tajiri sound familiar? It should if you like Pokémon. He was the  
creator of that very show/game. Yep, you're hearing straight from the mouth of one of the  
few people who like both Pokémon and Digimon.  
  
As for the name of Yolei's lawyer, Satoshi Takimi, doesn't that last name sound a bit familiar?  
At least for those of you who focus on the romantic relationships of the Digidestined? Call  
it a little hint as to one of the secrets of the past 25 years that will be explored over the  
course of this fanfic.  
  
Find it ironic that Kari switched to teaching fifth graders? If you watch the Tamers dub, it  
should make sense. After all, Kari and Miss Asaji share the same voice actress... Lara Jill  
Miller. And Miss Asaji teaches Takato's class, which is made up with of fifth graders (no  
matter what the dub originally stated -- that the kids were 13). Don't expect any Tamers  
cast members to appear. For that, you'll want to check out the OTHER in-the-future Digimon  
fanfic by another certain author.  
  
And the East Antarctica thing is actually very parallel to real world events right now. You  
know, with the United States wanting to go to war with Iraq. This'll be one of the major  
subplots that will be dealt with in this fanfic, but I will tell you that Japan does not  
represent the United States in the parallel. To find out who that is, keep reading!  
  
Remember back in my notes of the first episode when I mentioned what couplings are active in  
this fanfic? Well, now comes about the second subplot in which how those couplings were  
established. Hopefully, I'll surprise a few people along the way. There were already hints  
to past failed relationships in this episode alone. There will be a whole lot more, and my  
goal is that by the end of this fanfic, you'll be able to connect the relationship status  
between the defeat of MaloMyotismon and the start of this story for all of the characters.  
  
And sorry about the whole men bashing thing. Believe it or not, it's going to be a facet of  
Mimi's character that will be explored heavily in the early going. And yes, there is a reason  
why she is like that, but you'll have to read on and see.  
  
And no, it does not involve her getting raped. I think I've already used that in two other  
fanfics already, and it doesn't do good to repeat it once again.  
  
  
***** Next Episode - The Despondent Dozen *****  
Sora and Mimi try to get the DarkTyrannomon back to the Digiworld as Tai tries to find his  
D-3. Once that's taken care of, it's back to Osaka for a briefing from Izzy and a description  
of the 'suspects' from Mimi. And speaking of the suspects... 


	4. The Despondent Dozen

"The Circle of the Digidestined," written by Freedom Fighter  
  
Disclaimer: None of the characters, human or Digimon, belong to me, the writer.  
  
Author's Warning: The following fanfic features gruesome character death, both of the human  
and Digimon kind, violence of varying levels, some profane language, and some suggestive  
situations. Please do not read this fanfic if you're underage or feel that you cannot handle  
any of said features.  
  
======  
  
  
"And that's the whole story."  
  
Izzy Izumi was standing next to a coffeemaker on the counter he was leaning against as he  
concluded his story about what had happened. He searched the faces of his six fellow  
Digidestined for a reaction of any kind.  
  
"Poor Joe," Kari finally spoke up. "He didn't deserve to die that way."  
  
"I can't believe it," TK added shakily. "After everything he's done in life, becoming the  
Digiworld's first human doctor... how can something like this happen to Joe?"  
  
"No one showed as much dedication for his job as Joe did," Cody toted, remembering how close  
he and Joe were as friends. "He will be truly missed."  
  
"How can something like this happen?" Yolei asked aloud. She was really worried about the  
incident, as shown by how tight her hands were squeezing Ken's. "What's to stop something like  
this from happening again?"  
  
"Calm down," Izzy approached Yolei slowly. "You don't have to worry about that."  
  
As Ken tried to reassure his wife that everything was okay, he shot Izzy a curious look.  
  
"If this stampede was as big as you say, then how did it form? I didn't think the Jagamon in  
those regions were so closely knit."  
  
"They weren't," Izzy replied. "I won't know for sure until the investigation is complete,  
but some of those Jagamon could have come from as far away as the other side of the sector."  
  
"That's in the neighboorhood of a hundred miles!" Ken exclaimed.  
  
"A hundred miles?" Davis popped in, surprised at the distance. "Gee, those must be some  
strong Digimon if they ran that far."  
  
But Kari introduced a more plausible theory. "You think someone could have brought the  
Jagamon to a spot closer to where..."  
  
"Exactly!"  
  
"If that's the case," Izzy began as he started to pace, "then maybe what Mimi said may have  
some truth to it after all."  
  
"Mimi?" Yolei asked, always concerned when Mimi is involved in anything.  
  
Izzy nodded as he stopped in his tracks and glanced up at the ceiling. "Guys, I think our  
worst fear has come true."  
  
Everyone's face went white with fear. The day they had dreaded since they stopped  
MaloMyotismon all those years ago had finally arrived. And not one of them were ready to  
accept it as Izzy was about to so easily.  
  
"Humans are trying to take over the Digiworld."  
  
  
***** Episode Four - The Despondent Dozen (11.12.02) *****  
  
  
Halfway across the world, in Paris, France...  
  
"Meteor Wing!"  
  
"Get a taste of my Needle Spray!"  
  
Birdramon and Togemon both fired off another round of attacks at the DarkTyrannomon pair.  
Stunned but far from out, the DarkTyrannomon fire back.  
  
"Fire Blast!" they both shouted.  
  
The two fire-powered attacks hit their mark. Birdramon shook off the attack, while Togemon  
used her boxing gloves to snuff out the small fire that had materialized just below her chin.  
  
"This isn't getting us anywhere!" Birdramon shouted.  
  
"At this rate, the city will be destroyed before we can contain them," Togemon exclaimed.  
  
Down at ground level, Sora and Mimi were setting their D-3s to activate the digivolution  
process.  
  
"I hope this works," Mimi stated worriedly. "It's been a year and a half since I last had  
Togemon digivolve to champion."  
  
"It's been two for me and Birdramon," Sora stated, "but we can't worry about that now. We've  
got to get an advantage of some sort or we'll never stop those DarkTyrannomon!"  
  
Finished with their adjustments, the two raised their D-3s into the air as Catherine looked  
on from a few feet away.  
  
"Go for it!" Catherine cheered.  
  
"Birdramon!"  
  
"Togemon!"  
  
"Time to digivolve to ultimate!" the two women yelled in unison.  
  
Streams of data surround Birdramon and Togemon as they evolved from champions to ultimates.  
  
"Birdramon digivolve to... Garudamon!"  
  
"Togemon digivolve to... Lillymon!"  
  
The two ultimates appear and immediately take flight.  
  
"Two DarkTyrannomon at twelve o'clock," Garudamon shouted in the air.  
  
"It's just like old times," Lillymon replied.  
  
"I've got the one on the left."  
  
"And I've got the cutie on the right!"  
  
The two split off, headed towards their respective targets.  
  
"Fire Blast!" the DarkTyrannomon on the left sounded off. He intended to knock Garudamon out  
of the sky before he got too close.  
  
"Not this time!" Garudamon exclaimed as she charged up for her attack. "Wing Blade!"  
  
The Phoenix-like fire creature that appeared dived at high speed towards the DarkTyrannomon.  
It bursted right through the Fire Blast attack and connected with its target. The dinosaur  
Digimon fell to the ground, knocked out from the blast.  
  
Meanwhile, the other DarkTyrannomon tried to swat Lillymon out of the air with his giant  
claws. But Lillymon dodged each swing, as she was way too fast for him to keep up.  
  
"Sorry big guy, but playtime's over!" Lillymon shouted as she dodged another swing. She dived  
under the Digimon's left armpit before she made a spiral upwards. She began to circle around  
DarkTyrannomon's neck as a ring of flowers began to materialize.  
  
"Flower Ring!"  
  
The ring formed around the Digimon's neck. Instantly, the DarkTyrannomon stopped swinging his  
arms about and stood up absolutely motionless.  
  
"Works like a charm!"  
  
"Yeah!" Mimi shouted. "You two did it!"  
  
"Bring them over here," Sora told the two Digimon as she noticed Catherine had pulled out her  
Digivice and had aimed it at one of the computer monitors in the nearby Internet café.  
  
"Mission accomplished, mes amies!" Catherine flashed a smile as her Digivice came to life.  
  
"Let's get these two back home," Sora walked over to her European agent. "We might be able  
to have that fashion show tonight after all."  
  
Garudamon was slowly walking the DarkTyrannomon he had knocked out over to the portal.  
Lillymon is having a much easier time, as she guided hers peacefully in that direction. Mimi  
had been watching the two Digimon finish things up, but Sora's comment returned her state of  
mind she was in when she had arrived.  
  
"Sora... you might want to reconsider that."  
  
"Why Mimi?" Sora asked. "Sure, it'll take all day to clean this mess, and the attack might  
affect the attendance, but the show will still go on."  
  
"Something bad's happened in the Digiworld," Mimi lowered her head silently. She hated to be  
the bearer of bad news, but she was the only person among them who knew what was going on.  
  
"Bad? Like what?"  
  
"You mean worse than this?" Catherine asked, pointing to all of the rubble.  
  
"Much worse."  
  
  
======  
  
  
With the two DarkTyrannomon returned to their rightful place in the Digiworld, Mimi relayed  
the news of Joe's death to Sora, Catherine, and Biyomon. Palmon stood by her partner as the  
trio reacted.  
  
"That's terrible!" Sora exclaimed. "To lose his life in such a way..."  
  
"How can Digimon be so ruthless?" Catherine had her hands up to her eyes as she wiped her  
tears away.  
  
"Does Gomamon know yet?" Biyomon asked, equally concerned about Joe's own partner.  
  
Palmon shook her head. "At least not yet. But by the time we get to Osaka, he should."  
  
"How can Izzy be so irresponsible?" shouted an enranged Mimi as she remembered the lapse of  
concentration that kept Izzy from being aware of Joe's safety.  
  
"I'm sure Izzy's as shocked as everyone," defended Sora, "but these things happen. They're  
best friends. They'd never wish this on each other."  
  
"If he had been doing his job, I wouldn't have to be taking you to Osaka!"  
  
"I should come along too," Catherine cut in. "After all, if this attack was premediated by  
some sicko or whatever, it might be in my country's best interest that it's only Digidestined  
be present."  
  
"Catherine's right, Mimi. What if this is connected to the stampede in the Digiworld?"  
  
"It wouldn't hurt," Palmon said to Mimi. "We might need help from her and Floramon."  
  
Mimi was hesitant to respond. After all, she knew of how close TK and Tai had gotten to  
Catherine when they first met 25 years ago. TK got even closer than that. But that was so  
long ago, and Mimi was beginning to think that those old feelings might have already vanished.  
  
But as she was about to agree, Tai and Agumon jumped out from one of the computers in the  
café. The two run outside as the three women watch.  
  
"Get ready to digivolve, Agumon! We've got to get these two back to the Digiworld before  
they cause any more damage!"  
  
"I'm ready!" Agumon exclaimed.  
  
"Ahem," Mimi coughed, with her arms crossed over her chest. "You two are late!"  
  
"What happened?" Sora asked.  
  
Tai scratched the back of his head sheepishly as he made his confession. "When I got back to  
the hotel, I plopped onto my bed and ended up... sleeping for ten minutes or so."  
  
"You bonehead!"  
  
"I don't even know why I left anyway," Tai growled, now the one who was angry. "You and Sora  
handled everything on your own. You didn't need me and Agumon."  
  
"That's not true." Sora was obviously trying to reestablish Tai's need to be there because he  
was the team leader. But Mimi wasn't letting him off the hook that easily.  
  
"I don't know why I listened to Izzy and got you in the first place!" Mimi yelled. "Just  
because you're a diplomat doesn't mean that we'll fight all your battles for you!"  
  
"I don't need you to fight my battles, Mimi! And I wouldn't say something like that if I were  
you. After all, it wouldn't be good for your Julia Child-like image."  
  
"Leave my work out of this!"  
  
"Well, leave mine out of it!"  
  
Palmon and Agumon pleaded with their partners to calm down. But it had already gotten too far  
out of hand, and Sora was forced to step in to break the two apart.  
  
"Why do you two continue to have these petty arguments?" she asked. "This is the last thing  
we need in a situation like this!"  
  
"Well, he/she started it," the two of them shouted as they pointed fingers at each other.  
  
"We've lost one of our own and yet you two want to bicker about who's the better Digidestined!  
Argh! It's like you two never..."  
  
"What?" Tai jumped in, a bit surprised about what Sora had just said. "What do you mean we  
lost one of our own?"  
  
"Mimi didn't exactly tell Tai what was going on," Palmon cut in.  
  
"What's going on?"  
  
"Tai... Joe was killed about an hour ago in a Jagamon stampede."  
  
Sora was hoping, sadly, that the news of Joe's death would calm Tai down and help him come to  
grips with the reality of the situation. Instead, it infuriated Tai even more.  
  
"You kept that from me!" Tai yelled at the top of lungs as he glared at Mimi. "I'm as much a  
friend of Joe's as everyone here! SO WHY AM I THE LAST TO KNOW?"  
  
"I was in a rush to get back to Osaka!" Mimi shot back. "Then we were sidetracked by the  
disturbance here in Paris! Or have you forgotten about that already?"  
  
"I'm the leader of this team!" Tai stomped his foot on the sidewalk. "I need to know what's  
going on with every single member of this team at any given team!"  
  
"The 'team,' Tai, broke up 25 years ago after we defeated MaloMyotismon! We all went our  
separate ways. There is no team anymore!" Mimi threw her hands up in frustration as she  
walked past Tai and into the Internet café. "I can't believe I got up out of bed for this!"  
  
"Then go back to your cozy mansion in the Hamptons!" Tai shouted, turning around to face  
the building. "The rest of us can handle this without you! That's what you want, isn't it?"  
  
"Tai, you never knew what I wanted! That's why our relationship failed all those years ago  
and why I'll never forgive you for it! I swear! The only reason YOU exist is to annoy me!"  
  
"And the only reason you STILL exist is because I know better than to take my anger out  
physically!"  
  
"Oh, was that a threat? You wouldn't have the balls to hit me."  
  
"Mimi, that's enough!" Sora was getting worried as to where this was leading. "Haven't you  
hurt Tai enough for one day?"  
  
Catherine had gone to Tai's side as she attempted to calm him down.  
  
"Tai, this is so unlike you," she said. "You're much nicer than this."  
  
"You don't know him like I know him," Mimi shouted. "The only thing in life Tai has never  
been able to control is his emotions. Especially when it comes to women's emotions!"  
  
Sora grabbed Mimi's arm, but she quickly shook free.  
  
"Mimi, will you calm down? Why don't you think about Tai's emotions right now? You're going  
to cause him to have a mental breakdown!"  
  
"You'd know a lot about those, wouldn't you Sora? Having to spend all but a few weeks every  
year taking care of your children alone while Matt works for the space program. It drives you  
crazy, doesn't it?"  
  
"Don't turn this on me! Besides, you're every bit as unstable as Tai right now! I'm afraid  
that if I don't stop this right now, one of you will do something you'll regret!"  
  
Mimi reached for her Digivice and started punching in the coordinates for the Digital World  
Research Laboratory in Osaka, Japan. She then aimed it towards the nearest active computer,  
which opened the local portal. Without another word, Mimi walked towards the monitor and is  
sucked in. Palmon glanced once at the others before following her partner through.  
  
Sora began to step towards the portal with Biyomon next to her, but Tai decided to speak up.  
  
"I don't know what I'd do without you," Tai said to Sora.  
  
"I'll tell Izzy that you'll be a little late," Sora lowered her head. "He'll understand."  
  
Tai nodded as Sora turned to shoot a reassuring glance at Catherine.  
  
"Could you help him cool off, Catherine?"  
  
"Oui! Of course!"  
  
"Tai, do whatever Catherine tells you, okay? I'll try to calm Mimi down, then call you two  
when it's safe to come to Osaka."  
  
Sora and Biyomon resumed their walk towards the portal. They are sucked into the monitor, but  
the portal remains open. Tai looked down at Agumon and motioned for him to go to Osaka too.  
  
"Tai? Are you sure?"  
  
"Catherine will take good care of me."  
  
"It's better if I'm alone with him," Catherine told Agumon. "If he's alone with another  
human, he's more likely to let all of his feelings out."  
  
"I guess," Agumon reluctantly agreed. "I still don't understand why you humans can't keep  
your emotions in check. It's easy for Digimon like me to do."  
  
Catherine giggled. "That's because humans have a lot more problems to worry about than Digimon  
do. Now, run along before you miss your train."  
  
Agumon glanced at Tai one more time. He then ran into the café and leaped into the portal,  
which finally closes behind him.  
  
Once the portal is gone, sirens begin to fill the air. Catherine wrapped her arm around the  
back of Tai's neck and started leading him down the street.  
  
"So, where should we start, mon ami?"  
  
  
=====  
  
  
A portal appeared inside the Digital World Research Lab in Osaka and spewed from it were  
Sora, Mimi, Biyomon, and Palmon. One of the technicians in the room got up out of his seat  
and lead them out of the room and to the staff lounge.  
  
Just outside the lounge stood most of the other Digidestined's Digimon. Biyomon and Palmon  
joined the group as Sora and Mimi opened the door into the lounge.  
  
"Where have you two been?" Patamon asked.  
  
"We had a couple of Digimon that had to be sent back to the Digiworld," Palmon replied.  
  
"Where are Agumon and Gabumon?" Armadillomon asked.  
  
"Agumon's helping Tai clear his head," Biyomon began, "and Gabumon's with Matt on the space  
station."  
  
"You mean they don't know what's going on?"  
  
"I doubt it. By the way, Gomamon isn't here yet either?"  
  
"I'm surprised that he isn't," Gatomon said. "Then again, I don't know if I'd be up for  
traveling if I lost my partner. Sigh... I don't know what I'd do if I lost Kari."  
  
"Things will get better," Tentomon stated aloud. "I know they will!"  
  
  
======  
  
  
"Mimi's here!" Yolei shouted in jubilation. "And so is Sora!"  
  
"Is something wrong?" Ken asked, who had spotted the cross look on Mimi's face.  
  
"Mimi, you were supposed to get Tai," reminded Izzy. "Don't tell me that you forgot."  
  
"Izzy..." Sora interrupted, "Mimi's not in the mood to talk right now."  
  
Mimi walked over to an empty seat and plopped down into it. It was positioned between Yolei  
and Cody. She huffed angrily as she turned her attention to Izzy.  
  
"Can we just get this over with so I can go home?"  
  
Izzy gulped. "She's STILL mad at me?" he thought. "I know I'm partly at fault for Joe's  
death, but I apologized already!"  
  
Sora headed over for the only other open seat, which was on the side closest to Izzy and right  
next to TK. She just shook her at Izzy, which was a singal to just move on and forget about  
Mimi's current state.  
  
"Actually, it's a good thing you're here," Izzy said, still looking at Mimi. "I remember you  
telling me that you saw some suspicious suspects around the oasis where you entered the  
Digiworld. You're the only person we're aware of that may know what they look like."  
  
"And your point is?"  
  
"What do you mean 'and your point is?' Mimi, we need to know what they look like so we can  
catch them before something like this happens again!"  
  
"I don't think I want to remember what they look like. They were all bad men, okay?"  
  
"Mimi, that doesn't help us at all!"  
  
"If you know anything," Sora cut in, "you need to tell everyone now, Mimi. We want to stop  
them before this spirals out of control."  
  
Mimi crossed her arms over her chest and sat there silently for a minute as a her thoughts  
raced through her mind. "I probably should say something. Darn it girl, haven't you realized  
that you need to forget about that argument with Tai and focus! You're supposed to be a  
Digidestined! Act like one!"  
  
"We don't have all day," Izzy growled as he began to tap his foot impatiently.  
  
"Okay," Mimi finally agreed, "I'll tell you all what I know. Though you may not like it."  
  
"We may not like it?" Cody asked curiously.  
  
"What do you mean by that?" Yolei added.  
  
"Well... let's just say a few things happened as I was watching them..."  
  
  
======  
  
  
Almost halfway across the Digiworld, five humans and five Digimon have set up camp on top of  
a sand dune overlooking two neighboring Digimon villages. One of them was using a pair of  
binoculars to peer into the villages. The one he was looking at now was filled with to the  
horns with Tsunomon. He then turned to his right to check out the other village, which he  
discovered was filled with Koromon.  
  
"Do we have to do this so soon?" a voice in the background asked.  
  
"Yes!" exclaimed a second. "This is how you strike fear into your enemies! You strike hard  
and fast before they get a chance to protect themselves! Just imagine thousands of humans  
and Digimon panicking their heads off! They'll be so worried about saving themselves that  
they won't worry about saving their cities or villages. In just a few days, we will have  
taken over both worlds!"  
  
"But I thought you wanted to destroy the Digiworld," a third spoke up.  
  
"Of course I do! But we have to squash all resistance before that happens!"  
  
"So fearless leader," began a fourth, "why are we starting with villages of baby Digimon?"  
  
"You dare question my ingenious plan?"  
  
"Well no, but why are we starting so small?"  
  
"We have five rookie-level Digimon. Do you think it's wise to invade a village of  
MetalGreymon?"  
  
"You mean there's actually a village full of MetalGreymon?"  
  
The leader growled angrily. "Of course there isn't! I'm trying to make a point! Look, no  
imbecile would try to attack someone stronger than them. That's like committing suicide!  
That's why I'm the leader! I'm not stupid enough to walk into a situation I can't work my  
way out of."  
  
"Sorry sir," the three lackeys apologized.  
  
"Now, go find our Digimon partners so we can do this and move on."  
  
  
  
Additional Author's Notes for this Episode:  
I think you're all dying to know two things. Where is Matt and why are Tai and Mimi fighting  
as if they were still a couple?  
  
Well, I don't think it was mentioned before this episode (though I swear it was), Matt and  
Gabumon are up in a space station. Matt's job, as given by the '25 years later' ending of  
the series, is being an astronaut. So for all the Matt fans wondering when he'll get into  
this, it probably won't be for another two to three episodes. I haven't planned anything yet  
past that yet, but I expect Matt to play a big part later on.  
  
As for Tai and Mimi, I told you last episode that yes, they were romantically involved once.  
But don't you get the feeling that they still have a grudge with each other over what  
happened? We're probably an episode or two away from uncovering that mystery, and we'll  
finally figure out why this couple was not meant to be.  
  
Oh, and just for the record books, Julia Child is probably the most influential TV cook in  
the world. If any of you have parents that have watched a cooking show on public television  
in the last 20-30 years, maybe even more 'cause I'm not sure how long she's been in the biz,  
then you probably know of Julia Child's reputation. For the purposes of this fanfic, Mimi's  
career as a TV cook just about matches that level of committment and charm.  
  
  
***** Next Episode - Support Your Own Kind *****  
When the bad guys strike in neighboring villages of Koromon and Tsunomon, several of the  
Digidestined are sent into action to stop the fighting before things get ugly. But what will  
they do when Agumon decides to side with his fellow Koromon? Plus, Gomamon arrives in Osaka,  
but is he already aware of Joe's fate or will the others be forced to tell him the grim news? 


	5. Support Your Own Kind

"The Circle of the Digidestined," written by Freedom Fighter  
  
Disclaimer: None of the characters, human or Digimon, belong to me, the writer.  
  
Author's Warning: The following fanfic features gruesome character death, both of the human  
and Digimon kind, violence of varying levels, some profane language, and some suggestive  
situations. Please do not read this fanfic if you're underage or feel that you cannot handle  
any of said features.  
  
======  
  
  
On the eleventh floor of an office building in downtown Tokyo, accountants type away at  
computers and other computing devices as they are in the middle of putting together the  
company's financial report. Among the group of eight is a beautiful brown-haired woman with  
glasses. Just like the female co-workers among them, she wears a dark-colored blouse  
and a black knee-length skirt, as well as a pair of creamy white high heels.  
  
Suddenly, the group hears their boss call out to them from the other side of the room.  
  
"Kido, you've got a call!" yells the mild-mannered, slightly rotund, 52-year old man.  
"It's urgent."  
  
"I'll take it in my office," the aforementioned woman replies.  
  
"Trust me," the boss shouts back. "You'll want to take this in my office."  
  
She shruggs her shoulders and walks over to her boss's office. Once she is inside and on  
the phone, he closes the door. A few seconds later, through the closed blinds, the woman's  
shadow can be seen falling to her knees. Sobbing can be heard from inside -- she has  
learned about the terrible news.  
  
Jean Kido has found out that her husband is dead.  
  
  
***** Episode Five - Support Your Own Kind (12.03.02) *****  
  
  
West to Osaka, Japan, to the Digital World Research Laboratory...  
  
Ten Digimon conversed amongst themselves outside the staff lounge, keeping out of the way  
so that the lab technicians could pass freely through the halls. Chiharu, Izzy's daughter,  
was also among them, discussing the correct use of digital data.  
  
All of the talking ceased when Chiharu noticed that Gomamon was standing a few feet away from  
them.  
  
"Where's Joe?" Gomamon asked slowly, slightly in a panic.  
  
All of the Digimon looked at each other and lowered their heads. None of them were willing to  
tell Gomamon the terrible news. But Chiharu wasn't afraid to tell him at all.  
  
"Uncle Joe kinda had an accident," she told him, trying to ease into it.  
  
But Gomamon lowered his head as if he had already gotten the picture. "It's too late, isn't  
it?"  
  
"My dad tried to save him, but... but he was too late."  
  
Gomamon slumped down onto the floor, sighing sadly over hearing the news.  
  
"I should've been there for him," he said to no one in particular. "He's my partner. I'm  
supposed to be by his side!"  
  
"Cheer up, Gomamon!" Tentomon said kindly.  
  
"Yeah!" Agumon added. "You can't blame yourself for what happened today."  
  
"I should've been there!" Gomamon cried, sniffling. "At least then, I would have protected  
him. Or gone down with him..."  
  
"Don't say that!" Agumon interjected.  
  
"But it's true! Without Joe, I've got no purpose in this world."  
  
"You're part of the team," Biyomon said, flying over to Gomamon's side. "Everyone on the team  
has a purpose."  
  
"What would Joe think if you left us right now?" Hawkmon asked. "I doubt he'd approve of  
that."  
  
"Besides," Agumon jumped back in, "we won't let you drop out just when we need all the help we  
can get against these Digiworld invaders."  
  
"We're a team and we'll succeed as long as we stay as one," preached Patamon.  
  
Gomamon began to get all teary-eyed. "Thanks guys. I don't know what I'd do without you."  
  
All of the Digimon shared a group hug as Chiharu looked on. She still looked a bit worried,  
even though the others had managed to temporarily lift Gomamon's spirits up.  
  
"Poor Gomamon," she thought to herself. "What will happen to him now? I wish that thing my  
dad said -- about what happens to Digimon who've lost their partners -- isn't true."  
  
  
======  
  
  
In the Digiworld, the peace between neighboring villages of Koromon and Tsunomon was about to  
come to an end, thanks to five Digimon instigators.  
  
"When I give the signal, go!" yelled the leader, a Gazimon. Sounds of the other Digimon  
were heard off-screen, but none of their identities were revealed.  
  
Suddenly, a group of five Tsunomon appeared, hopping along happily towards the border between  
the two Digimon villages. Playing right by the border, but on their side, were three  
unsuspecting Koromon, who were playing catch with a beach ball by using their long ears to do  
so.  
  
As the Tsunomon approached the Koromon, the shadows of five rookie level Digimon prepared to  
initiate their attack.  
  
"Bubble Blow!" a Digimon yelled, sending bubbles from the Tsunomon area towards the Koromon.  
  
"The Tsunomon are attacking us!" one of the Koromon exclaimed as those creatures hopped ever  
closer. "We must strike back!"  
  
"Bubble Blow?" the second Koromon suggested.  
  
"Bubble Blow," the third agreed.  
  
The trio of Koromon turned and fired, unaware that they were getting help from behind them.  
  
"Bubble Blow!" the Koromon shouted, and dozens of bubbles appeared. The number of bubbles in  
the immediate area quickly grew to nearly a hundred in mere seconds, as both the Koromon and  
the Tsunomon felt the sting of bubbles popping against their faces.  
  
"Ow, that hurt!" one of the Tsunomon exclaimed as a bubble hit him. "Tsunomon, attack!"  
  
About forty or fifty Tsunomon hopped onto the scene. Working together, they fired wave after  
wave of bubbles at the opposing Koromon.  
  
"Aaaaahhhh!" the three Koromon yelled, trapped by the barrage of bubbles.  
  
The overwhelming cries of pain from the Koromon trio prompted the arrival of reinforcements of  
their own. Soon enough, the chaos broke out into an all-out war for survival, as Koromon and  
Tsunomon alike blew bubbles, tackled each other painfully, or a combination of both. In  
fact, all of them were so wrapped up in their fight that not one noticed five Digimon  
sneaking away from the two villages.  
  
None of which were Koromon or Tsunomon.  
  
"It worked like a charm," a Betamon shouted, ecstatic.  
  
"I still say my plan was better," stated a jealous Mushroomon.  
  
"Oh yeah... making them laugh themselves to deletion is ingenious, Mushroomon!" a Gizamon  
remarked sarcastically.  
  
"Gazimon's plan was the greatest ever!" praised a Hagurumon.  
  
"Quiet!" the Gazimon shushed. "Haven't you four ever heard of sneaking away QUIETLY?"  
  
"Oh yeah," the other four Digimon replied, noticing that they weren't far enough from the  
village to talk openly.  
  
As the five Digimon escaped from the village, their human counterparts were watching nearby,  
using binoculars to spy on the action.  
  
"Now that the Digimon have done their work," the leader told the others, "we'll just sit back  
and let all the fireworks go off."  
  
  
======  
  
  
Back at the research facility, the rest of the Digidestined listened as Mimi told them about  
her encounter at the oasis.  
  
"And that's it," Mimi finished. "I don't remember much about what they looked like because  
they weren't there for very long."  
  
"Hopefully long enough to get a peek," Yolei smiled lecherously. "Don't spare the details,  
girl!"  
  
"Yolei!" Ken shouted, surprised at her actions. "You're happily married to me, remember?"  
  
"I think we should change the subject," TK suggested.  
  
Izzy nodded in agreement. "TK's right. We need to stay focused on the task at hand."  
  
"Great!" Mimi exclaimed. "Why don't we start by discussing how much of a jerk Tai is!"  
  
"I was talking about the Digiworld invaders."  
  
"Maybe we should talk about Tai," Kari suggested, taking Mimi's side. "I don't think Mimi's  
sane enough to worry about anything other than my brother right now."  
  
"Sane enough?" Mimi asked defensively, in disbelief that Kari would question her state of  
mind. "I'm perfectly in control of my emotions, Kari!"  
  
"Mimi's just upset because she's not getting her beauty sleep," Sora quickly concluded.  
  
"I guess we haven't take into account the time differential between New York and Osaka," Izzy  
said. "It's about two a.m. there now, if my calculations are right."  
  
"Which is why I want to get out of here!" Mimi shouted impatiently.  
  
"And I think you're right. You should go home and rest."  
  
Mimi's mood instantly brightened up. "You really mean it?"  
  
"Yep," Izzy nodded before pulling out a notepad and a pen. "As soon as you give me the  
descriptions of those five guys again."  
  
Just as quickly as she had cheered up, Mimi was filled with rage once again. She leaned over  
with both hands to try and strangle Izzy, and probably would have succeeded had Sora not  
reacted quickly and held her back.  
  
"Daddy, daddy!"  
  
Everyone turned to face the lounge door, which had just been opened to reveal Chiharu and the  
woman who had carried her off to safety when everything first unfolded. The interruption was  
enough to calm Mimi down sufficiently for Sora to get her seated again.  
  
"Miss Yagami says we've got another code blue situation," Chiharu announced.  
  
Miss Yagami, who was the woman standing with Chiharu, had a manila folder tucked under her  
left armpit. She removed it from there, placed it on the table, and slid it over to Izzy  
without losing a single paper.  
  
"What's the damage?" Izzy asked as he picked up the folder.  
  
"The signal's coming from the East Quadrant this time, sir. Sector three point ten."  
  
"That's where there's a pair of Koromon and Tsunomon villages," Izzy stated, as he opened  
the folder and looked at the piece of paper on top."  
  
"Right."  
  
"Don't they usually live in peace? This says that they're fighting with each other."  
  
"That's the problem, sir. No one knows how it started, but suddenly the Koromon and the  
Tsunomon are at war with each other. Some of the weaker Digimon have already been deleted in  
the battles."  
  
Izzy shook his head in dismay. He then turned towards Davis and the younger Digidestined.  
"Davis, I want you, Yolei, Cody, and Ken to take care of this."  
  
"You want US to stop the fighting?" Davis asked.  
  
"Without any further injuries or deletions, if possible."  
  
"Don't worry," Ken said to Davis. "We'll be fine."  
  
"Yeah!" Yolei shouted cheerfully. "It's time to go! And in the name of peace, we shall  
punish those responsible!"  
  
"Yolei, that's so corny," Cody commented.  
  
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," Yolei muttered, just loud enough for the two of them to  
hear.  
  
"I should go too," Kari said, standing up.  
  
Davis was instantly smitten. "You mean it, Kari? You want to come with me... uh, us?"  
  
"As much as it'd please you if I was coming just for you, Davis, that's not why I'm tagging  
along."  
  
"Agumon!" Chiharu shouted; she had already deduced Kari's plan.  
  
"I agree," Izzy added, also catching on. "Agumon might be able to talk some sense into the  
Koromon. Too bad we don't have Gabumon here with us."  
  
"I'm going too," TK jumped out of his seat. But Izzy shook his head.  
  
"Sorry TK, but I need you here with me."  
  
"Wha?" TK blinked in confusion.  
  
"I need you to help me get in contact with the other Digidestined of the world. It's going to  
take at least two of us to get through it as fast as possible."  
  
"Why can't Sora do it?" TK asked as he glanced over at Sora, who responded by glaring back  
at him.  
  
"I don't suppose you know about how to console an emotionally distraught woman, do you?"  
  
TK scratched the back of his head nervously. "Not a clue. I guess I'm stuck helping Izzy."  
  
"Good," Izzy flashed a smile. "It's important that we have the rest of the 'destined on  
standby, just in case." He then turned to look at Miss Yagami, who was still waiting by the  
door. "Rena, could you take them to the Digiport room?"  
  
"Right away, sir," Miss Yagami saluted. With that, she led the five Digidestined out of the  
room, as their Digimon followed behind them. Agumon was also with them, bringing up the rear.  
  
  
======  
  
  
In just minutes, Davis, Kari, Yolei, Cody, and Ken, along with their six accompanying  
Digimon, had arrived at the trouble spot in the Digiworld. Right in the middle, actually, as  
Koromon and Tsunomon battled all around them. In fact, a Koromon bounced past Hawkmon, and he  
watched in horror as a Tsunomon bubble blowed the Koromon to deletion.  
  
"This is horrible," Kari cried, as she watched the Koromon and Tsunomon tussle.  
  
"What would cause them to fight like this?" Yolei wondered aloud as she glanced at the scene.  
  
A Tsunomon was sent flying right through one of the Koromon village's huts, landing flat on his  
face. On the other side, two Tsunomon ganged up on a Koromon and started to bounce on his  
head.  
  
"We gotta stop this!" Cody shouted.  
  
"We'll need to separate the two sides as quickly as possible," Ken told the others, who nodded  
in agreement.  
  
"Right. Stop the fighting without hurting the Digimon," Davis said, restating what Izzy had  
told them.  
  
"We'll take care of it, Davish!" Veemon shouted. "Let's go, gang!"  
  
Veemon led Hawkmon, Armadillomon, and Wormmon towards the spot where most of the Koromon and  
Tsunomon were fighting. Agumon and Gatomon stood in front of Kari as she gave them  
instructions.  
  
"You two need to find the village leaders and get them to cease their fighting."  
  
"I'll look for the one in the Koromon village," Agumon said.  
  
"And I'll look for the Tsunomon leader," Gatomon said.  
  
The two of them then went their separate ways to begin their search through the two villages.  
  
  
======  
  
  
"Who do these guys think they are?" one of the men asked aloud.  
  
The fearsome fivesome were still in the area, looking over the Koromon and Tsunomon villages  
as they fell apart. But they were not happy with the arrival of these other humans, trying to  
undo their dirty work.  
  
"We can cream these guys," another man shouted. "Let's just go down and take care of them!"  
  
"We don't know what they're capable of!" the leader of the group snapped. "What did I say  
before?"  
  
The other humans sighed as they repeated his earlier statement in a monotone. "No imbecile  
would try to attack someone stronger than them."  
  
"Good. Now, let's just sit back and watch so we can find out just what these guys can do."  
  
  
======  
  
  
"Vee Headbutt!"  
  
"Feather Strike!"  
  
"Diamond Shell!"  
  
"Sticky Net!"  
  
Veemon, Hawkmon, Armadillomon, and Wormmon fired off their respective attacks, with all but  
the last deleting their targets accidentally.  
  
"Aren't we supposed to be keeping them from deleting each other, instead of deleting them  
ourselves?" Wormmon asked.  
  
"We can't help it," Armadillomon defended himself. "Our attacks are just too strong for  
them."  
  
"We've got to think of another way," Hawkmon said.  
  
"I've got an idea," Veemon shouted as he walked over to a Tsunomon and picked it up off the  
ground. "See? We can just lift them off the ground and carry them to a safer place!"  
  
"Um... you might wanna look down," Armadillomon said.  
  
Veemon looked and saw that a bunch of Tsunomon were gathering around him... and preparing to  
attack.  
  
"Let go of him!" one Tsunomon shouted.  
  
"You Koromon lover!" another screamed.  
  
The Tsunomon attacked Veemon with enough force that he lost his grip on the creature above  
his head. It landed right in the midst of a circle of Koromon.  
  
"Incoming!" Hawkmon yelled as he flew into the circle and air lifted the Tsunomon out of  
danger.  
  
"That Digimon's with the Tsunomon!" one of the Koromon pointed out.  
  
"Get him!" a second yelled as he led the charge.  
  
"Oh my," Hawkmon gasped in worry as he dropped the Tsunomon on top of a hut before flying out  
of target range.  
  
"Sticky Net!" Wormmon yelled, wrapping a Koromon and a Tsunomon in the same web. "Oh dear...  
that's not going to work at all."  
  
As the Koromon and Tsunomon continued to tussle, the Digidestined were thinking of interfering  
themselves.  
  
"We've got to do something!" Yolei yelled.  
  
"We can't have our Digimon digivolve to ultimate because then they'll be too powerful," Cody  
said. "They'll just end up deleting all the Digimon that way."  
  
"Then we'll carry them all out, like Veemon suggested!" Davis decided.  
  
But Ken disagreed. "No way. That would take too long, and besides, there's no way we could  
keep them from hopping back into the fight. Plus, they might all decide to turn on us."  
  
The four of them turned to Kari, who didn't appear to be too worried about the grim situation.  
  
"Kari?" Yolei snapped her fingers, bringing the zoned out Kari back to her senses.  
  
"Huh?" Kari blinked.  
  
"How can you be daydreaming at a time like this? We've got Digimon being deleted right before  
our very eyes here!"  
  
"Aren't you worried at all?" Ken asked, astonished.  
  
Kari shook her head and smiled. "I know the situation looks grim, but Agumon and Gatomon are  
going to help bring peace here again. In fact, it looks like they've succeeded."  
  
She pointed ahead of them, and the other 'destined followed her line of sight. And there,  
they saw that the fighting had temporarily stopped because Agumon and Gatomon were standing in  
the middle... with the Koromon and Tsunomon leaders, respectively.  
  
"Fellow Koromon and Tsunomon," Gatomon shouted, "all of this fighting is uncalled for. You've  
been tricked by a deceitful group of Digimon whose only purpose is to watch you tear each  
other apart."  
  
"Listen to this wise Gatomon," the lead Tsunomon told his fellow Digimon. "She speaks the  
truth."  
  
"Agumon," Gatomon whispered, "lend me a paw already!"  
  
But to her surprise, Agumon refused. "I'm sorry, Gatomon, but I can't."  
  
The Digidestined and their Digimon gasped in disbelief.  
  
"I have talked with the Koromon village elder," Agumon stated, giving said leader a glance,  
"and they've been wanting to wage this war with the Tsunomon for ages now. This wasn't  
spawned by some bad humans. Besides, the Tsunomon deliberately attacked the Koromon!"  
  
"What?" a Tsunomon cried. "The Koromon attacked us!"  
  
"That's untrue!" a Koromon shouted.  
  
Suddenly, the arguing quickly swelled into another huge battle, with only the village elders  
and the Digidestined's Digimon not getting involved. The hits were more fearsome as bubbles  
flew everywhere and Digimon bounced off each other and their village's huts.  
  
But when the elders started mixing it up, Gatomon decided to take out her frustration of  
failing the mission on Agumon.  
  
"Who's side are you on anyway? Lightning Paw!"  
  
Agumon barely dodged Gatomon's attack, sidestepping it.  
  
"You tell me! You're the one who's attacking me!"  
  
As hopes to bring peace to the two neighboring villages dwindled away, the Digidestined looked  
on with worry.  
  
"What are we going to do now?" Cody asked, not really expecting an answer. And he wouldn't  
get one, for they were all too appalled to respond. Except for Kari, who pulled out her D-3  
and raised it to the sky.  
  
"Um, Kari..." Davis butted in, "what are you doing?"  
  
"Power of Light!" Kari shouted, completely ignoring Davis. "Stop this fight NOW!"  
  
A beam of shining light was emitted from the D-3, blinding everyone and everything within a  
one-mile radius... including the villains, who were diving for cover.  
  
Suddenly, in the center of all of the fighting, Gatomon appeared, preparing to digivolve to  
the ultimate level.  
  
"Gatomon digivolve to... Angewomon!"  
  
The angel of light appeared, hovering over the two villages as the light from the D-3 finally  
died down. Koromon and Tsunomon glanced up to look at the angel and immediately ceased their  
fighting.  
  
"It's the legendary Angel of Light!" the Koromon leader exclaimed.  
  
"She must be one of the Digidestined," the Tsunomon leader deduced, turning to face Kari.  
  
All of the Digimon turned to face Kari, who didn't seem freaked out about it in the least.  
But Davis sure was, as evidenced by him hiding behind Ken with arms wrapped around his waist.  
  
"Remind me never to get Kari mad," Davis said as Yolei pried him off of her husband.  
  
"Return to your homes at once!" the two village elders yelled, sending all of their fellow  
Digimon scrambling back into their respective villages.  
  
"It looks like we've settled things down here," Angewomon said before turning her attention to  
Agumon, who was already being surrounded by Veemon and the others.  
  
"What's wrong with you, Agumon?" Veemon asked.  
  
"You were supposed to stop the fighting," Hawkmon stated, "not encourage them to continue."  
  
  
======  
  
  
As things began to settle, the bad guys were gathering themselves.  
  
"Who the hell is that woman?" one of them asked.  
  
"I intend to find out," the leader muttered. "But for now, we'd better get out of here."  
  
He pulled out his D-3 and opened up a portal back to the real world, through which the whole  
gang made their escape.  
  
  
  
Additional Author's Notes for this Episode:  
Yet another family member revealed, this one an unmentioned one from the '25 years later'  
ending. Jean Kido, Joe's wife, has finally gotten the bad news. As for their kid's name...  
you'll find that out soon, as well as most, if not all, of the other Digidestined's family  
members.  
  
Speaking of things being revealed, the bad guys' Digimon have been identified! As for the  
guys behind the Digimon... tune in next episode to see who they are!  
  
Who's this Miss Rena Yagami? It's an original character created for this fanfic. After all,  
Izzy does need co-workers. And to answer two questions that someone might ask... no, she's  
not Izzy's wife, and no, she's not related to Tai or Kari or anyone in their family. (For  
the unlightened, which should be very few, Yagami is the Japanese last name of their family.)  
  
According to my memory, and Chris McFeely's 'The Digimon Encyclopedia' website, Hawkmon's main  
attack has been called three different names in the dub. Beak Buzzsaw, the first one used,  
Hawk Beam, which is the one Bandai uses for the Hawkmon action figure, and Feather Strike.  
Personally, I think the third fits the attack best, so that's the one I'll use for Hawkmon in  
this and subsequent battle scenes in which he's involved.  
  
  
***** Next Episode - Have the Courage to be Sincere with Me! *****  
Wanting to test the opposition, the villainous leader splits his forces up in hopes of  
weakening the Digidestined. Each of the four lackeys are to ravage a different part of the  
Digiworld to lure our heroes out. Tai and Catherine must join Mimi to take care of the first,  
but first they'll have to take care of matters between the former couple. 


	6. Have the Courage to be Sincere with Me!

"The Circle of the Digidestined," written by Freedom Fighter  
  
Disclaimer: None of the characters, human or Digimon, belong to me, the writer.  
  
Author's Warning: The following fanfic features gruesome character death, both of the human  
and Digimon kind, violence of varying levels, some profane language, and some suggestive  
situations. Please do not read this fanfic if you're underage or feel that you cannot handle  
any of said features.  
  
This particular episode features an undescriptive bedroom scene.  
  
======  
  
  
"You're serious about this?" Matt asked.  
  
"For the hundredth time Matt, yes!" replied Tai, his best friend. "I intend to attend  
school in America!"  
  
"What's wrong with going to college here in Japan?" Joe asked.  
  
"Yeah," added Izzy. "There are plenty of universities here you can attend."  
  
"But none of the ones I want!"  
  
"So you'd rather go to the United States?" Izzy pressed again. "To a school not as  
prestigious as a similarly accredited one here?"  
  
"Yes! Geese, how many more times do I have to say yes?"  
  
"You're free to go wherever you want," Sora said. "But just because you didn't do good enough  
on your college entrance exams to go to one of your top three choices doesn't mean you have to  
leave the country."  
  
"It's for the best, Sora. Trust me when I say that."  
  
"The best for us, right?"  
  
Tai sighed. "Well yeah, but..."  
  
Sora walked over and clasped her hands over Tai's. "I think it's honorable that you're finally  
willing to admit that there was nothing between us... but this is a little extreme, isn't it?"  
  
"Matt may have claimed your heart four years ago, but I still love you Sora. But to protect  
our friendship with each other and with Matt is my main concern. I'm afraid that if I stay  
here any longer, I'll try to get between you two."  
  
"We can work it out, Tai."  
  
"Yeah," Matt cut in. "I'd rather have you stay in Japan and talk things over. All you're  
doing is running away from your problems! And that's not good!"  
  
"I've already made my decision, Matt. I'm committed to going there already. It's too late to  
back out of it now."  
  
"It's going to be hard to say goodbye to you," Joe said, trying to hold back tears. "Having  
Mimi move abroad seven years ago was one thing. But seeing you, our fearless leader, leave..."  
  
"We're not Digidestined anymore," Tai told Joe. "We're not obligated to stay together in case  
something happens in the Digiworld. I mean, we've restored peace to the Digiworld and  
nothing's going to try and destroy it anytime soon. It's time we all go our own separate ways  
in life."  
  
"I concur with you wholeheartedly," Izzy agreed.  
  
"Izzy!" Sora snapped, making the resident genius take a step back.  
  
"I mean, of course, it would be hard to attend college in the United States. You'll have to  
meet new people, make new friends. Heck, you even have to learn how to speak English."  
  
"I'll manage fine," Tai growled. "Look, can you guys at least act like you're behind me?"  
  
The other four Digidestined shot worried glances at each other before Sora finally spoke up.  
  
"If you want to go to college there, that's fine by all of us. We don't agree with your  
decision, but it is your decision after all. And we should respect that."  
  
  
======  
  
  
"So, that ees what happened before you left home?" a curious Catherine asked.  
  
Now back in present day, Catherine and Tai were sitting at a table at an outdoor café in  
Paris. She had decided that the best way to find out the root of aggression between Tai and  
Mimi was to learn everything she could about their past relationship. Tai didn't agree to it  
at first, but now he seemed to be spilling his heart out.  
  
"Maybe I should have listened to them," Tai told Catherine as he pounded the table angrily,  
making her jump a little. "Then, I wouldn't have screwed up my life! Or Mimi's. Not that  
she damn cares about it anyway."  
  
Catherine gasped. "How could you say such a thing about her?"  
  
"'Cause our relationship was a sham! She didn't really love me! She played me for a fool!"  
  
  
======  
  
  
"He played me for a fool, Sora! Plain and simple!"  
  
At the exact same time, halfway across the world in Osaka, Mimi was letting out her  
frustration by also lamenting about her failed relationship with Tai. Not that Sora had no  
prior knowledge of it, but she herself was unsure of the true facts. She very well knew that  
Tai and Mimi's stories differed greatly, and after all of these years, she still hadn't figured  
out what parts were true and what parts weren't.  
  
"He never loved me! He never thought about what was best for me! It was all him, him, HIM!"  
  
"Mimi, we've discussed this. Tai's not that type of person."  
  
"How would you know? You were never romantically involved with him! You weren't the one who  
slept with him!"  
  
"Just because I haven't slept with him doesn't mean I don't know Tai inside and out."  
  
"You never know a person until you spend every waking moment with him. And, if you don't mind,  
that's one month, 17 days, 13 hours, and six minutes of my life that I'd rather like back!"  
  
  
***** Episode Six - Have the Courage to be Sincere with Me! (12.10.02) *****  
  
  
Elsewhere in the research lab, Kari was relaying to Izzy the details of the Koromon-Tsunomon  
village incident.  
  
"Just as I suspected," Izzy stated after hearing of their findings. "Another incident set up  
by those terrorists!"  
  
"I don't we should go as far as call them terrorists," Kari said, "but I do think that they  
need to be stopped.  
  
"You're right. The voluntary slaughtering of innocent humans and Digimon alike is wrong.  
We've got to find out who these guys are. If only Mimi would give me a more accurate profile."  
  
"Speaking of which, how's Mimi doing?"  
  
"Sora took her out for some girl talk. I'm sure they're talking about your brother."  
  
"Tai's not a bad person. Mimi knows that. So why does she insist on making this a personal  
vendetta against him?"  
  
"If I knew that Kari, then I'd be a psychiatrist. Not a scientist."  
  
"I wonder what Tai feels like right now. I hope he hasn't done anything he'll regret."  
  
  
======  
  
  
Tai was unpacking his belongings and setting them up in his dorm room. His roommate hadn't  
arrived yet... international students were allowed to come to campus a few days earlier than  
everyone else. Anyway, Tai was so involved in setting up his desk that he didn't hear the  
door open.  
  
"Hiiii!" came the squeal from a familiar female voice.  
  
"Mimi!" Tai shouted in surprise, not expecting her to be there. "What are you doing here?"  
  
Mimi huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I came here to help you, and this is the  
thanks I get?"  
  
"You mean... you drove all the way out here from the city?"  
  
"Of course, silly! Someone needs to make sure that you just don't throw stuff all over the  
place. Plus, there's no one else for you to depend on to give you a tour of campus."  
  
"I appreciate the offer Mimi, but... wait, did you say give ME a tour?"  
  
Mimi nodded. "Yep."  
  
"How could you? I thought you were a year behind me!"  
  
"Of course, silly! I'm going to be a high school senior this year, but I'm already thinking  
of coming to this college next year. It's just some lucky coincidence that you decided to go  
here too."  
  
"That's great," Tai said sarcastically. He then heard his stomach grumble for food, much to  
Mimi's dismay. "How 'bout I take you up on the tour offer? Starting with finding a place to  
eat! Is there anyplace around here open?"  
  
"Of course, silly!"  
  
"Will you stop saying that? You sound like a broken record!"  
  
"Of cour..." Tai shut Mimi up by covering her mouth with his hand before she could finish.  
  
  
======  
  
  
"I think it was sweet of her to help," Catherine cooed.  
  
"It would've been a lot better if she didn't bring all that pink wallpaper with her," Tai  
shot back, remembering the scene. "I swear, I had to do everything just to keep her from  
plastering that on my wall!"  
  
  
======  
  
  
"I only suggested plastering pink wallpaper once, yet he screamed his head off at me!" Mimi  
exclaimed.  
  
"Didn't you realize you were probably offending his manhood?" Sora asked. "Pink isn't exactly  
a guy's color, you know. Unless the guy's a pimp, but that's a totally different story."  
  
  
======  
  
  
Mimi remembered visiting Tai several times over the course of the year. On several occasions,  
she'd drive him into the city and show him the landmarks. Well, as best as they could, given  
the outlandishly extreme but necessary security precautions posted there.  
  
Their time together increased the following year, when Mimi started attending college with  
Tai. It would be their first official night on the town as undergrads when things began to  
click between the two former Digidestined...  
  
"So Tai, where are we going?"  
  
"A night club, where else? It's what everyone does on the weekend."  
  
Mimi began to freak out. "I'm not dressed to go dancing!"  
  
"You don't need to look like Cinderella to get into a club. This isn't a royal ball, you  
know."  
  
Mimi pouted. "But I want to look nice."  
  
"I think you look nice enough already," complimented Tai.  
  
"I never would have guessed you had eyes for me," Mimi said, stating what she thought was  
obvious... though Tai's surprised look proved differently.  
  
"I didn't mean it that way, Mimi. It's just... well... you know, you always look nice. But  
I never paid much attention because... well, you know why."  
  
"Only NOW you begin to notice me?" Mimi wasn't exactly pleased. "We've known each other for  
how long and you've never even imagined what it would be like to be with me?"  
  
"Why are you worried about that? If I didn't know better, I'd say that you've been wanting me  
to notice you."  
  
Naturally, Mimi didn't have a response for that.  
  
"I'll take that as a yes," Tai deduced.  
  
"So, what if I have?" Mimi shot back.  
  
Tai sighed. "Look, you wanted me to take you out for your first Saturday night as an official  
college student as friends. And I intend for it to stay that way."  
  
"Fine then. If anyone asks, we're just friends... not a couple."  
  
  
======  
  
  
"Too bad that didn't hold up long once we got in the club," Mimi told Sora. "Once we started  
getting into the music, we totally forgot about our friendship and danced as if we had been a  
couple for several months already."  
  
"From what I remember," Sora recollected before stifling a giggle. "You had said once that  
you had to give Tai dancing lessons right on the dance floor!"  
  
"I couldn't believe that Tai didn't know the first thing about dancing!"  
  
  
======  
  
  
"I couldn't believe that Mimi had me dancing!" Tai exclaimed. "It was the worst night of my  
college life."  
  
But Catherine wasn't buying it as she smiled. "You cannot fool me, mon ami."  
  
"It's that easy to read me?"  
  
Catherine nodded, then smirked. "Oui. I bet you and Mimi got really close that night."  
  
Tai blushed as he tried to get the whole 'after dancing' part of the story out of his brain  
before Catherine could pry his brain for it. Not that it would keep her from doing so...  
  
  
======  
  
  
"Yeah, we snuggled that night. But we didn't take the plunge. Not yet, anyway."  
  
"It wouldn't have surprised me if you two had done it that night."  
  
Mimi gasped. "Sora! How could you believe that we were that passionately in love that soon?"  
  
"Well, you hadn't seen each other since the MaloMyotismon incident, so there was some time for  
both of you to mature. Tai especially."  
  
"The whole maturing part only took a week and a half. And then, well..."  
  
  
======  
  
  
Thanks to the darkness of night and the covers on Tai's bed, there wasn't much one could see  
at all. But one could definitely hear what was going on, with the bed frame bouncing, soft  
moaning from Mimi and some subtle grunting from Tai, and the occasional lip smacking.  
  
  
======  
  
  
Catherine cheered with glee. "I bet you're quite the monster in bed!"  
  
Tai began to sweat profusely. "I'd rather keep my bedroom habits in the bedroom, thank you.  
I usually don't talk about stuff like this out in public."  
  
"Okay, then maybe we should skip all of the passionate romantic parts. Sigh... and I was so  
looking forward to them."  
  
Tai looked at Catherine oddly. "Whomever said Paris was the City of Love wasn't kidding. Does  
everyone think nothing but romance here?"  
  
"More or less, yes."  
  
  
======  
  
  
"Maybe we should move on and focus on how you two broke up... and why you're both still at  
each other's throats," Sora suggested.  
  
"I don't know if wanna remember anymore," Mimi said sadly. "Too many bad memories."  
  
Mimi lowered her head and began to stare right into the floor. Sora sighed as she tried to  
decide if she should press the issue.  
  
  
======  
  
  
Somewhere else in the real world, inside a computer room in an unknown building, the five  
master criminals and their Digimon were gathered in a conference of sorts. They were in the  
middle of planning their next move, as a map of the Digiworld appeared on a nearby computer  
screen.  
  
At that moment, the leader was in the process of passing out shirts to the others... each one  
a different color.  
  
"Excuse me," the one with the green shirt interrupted, "what's with the shirts?"  
  
"It's to keep your identities a secret should you encounter anyone in the Digital World," the  
leader, who was sliding a white shirt over his head, said. "From this moment on, you shall  
call each other by the color of your shirt. For example, you would be Green.  
  
"But sir," Yellow jumped in, "why do I have to wear the yellow shirt?"  
  
"There's nothing wrong with wearing a yellow shirt!" White exclaimed.  
  
"Only women wear yellow."  
  
"Nonsense! Women wear anything pink, sky blue, scarlet red, or plain black! They do NOT  
wear yellow!"  
  
"Actually," Red cut in, "yellow can be worn by both men and women."  
  
"Nobody asked you, dunce bucket!" White shouted, slapping Red upside the head.  
  
Blue raised his hand.  
  
"What now, Blue?"  
  
"Um sir, what about the woman with that Digimon we saw back by the villages?"  
  
White smiled. "Finally! One of you had the nerve to ask a good question!"  
  
Going over to the keyboard, he punched a few buttons until a picture of Kari appeared on the  
screen.  
  
"This is Kari Kamiya. Brown haired, 36 years of age, female..."  
  
"Obviously," Green commented... before being hit in the forehead with a chalkboard eraser.  
  
"When I want your comments Green, I'll ask for them! Now... according to this profile, she  
was one of the twelve Digidestined of Japan 25 years ago. She is the holder of the Crest of  
Light."  
  
Upon hearing that, Red jumped out of his seat. Everyone wondered what was up with him.  
  
"Something's got him freaked," Gizamon said of his partner.  
  
"I wonder what," Mushroomon added.  
  
"Is there something wrong, Red?" White asked.  
  
Red nodded. "I know her. We kinda had a relationship a long time ago."  
  
"Is that so? Well, then, I should make a note of that for future reference."  
  
"But what if my feelings for her resurface?"  
  
"We'll worry about that if the situation arises! Now, take your seat, Red!"  
  
Red did as he was told, as his Gizamon walked up to him and started glancing at him curiously.  
Meanwhile, White turned his attention back to his lecture.  
  
"That woman wasn't alone there. The four others that were with her... most likely, they're  
Digidestined as well."  
  
"If there's 12 of them and just five of us," Yellow began, "then maybe we should just give up.  
We're outnumbered here!"  
  
"We will do no such thing! We need to see what they are capable of!"  
  
"But if all of their Digimon are as strong as this woman's... uh, whatever she had..."  
  
"A Gatomon, I believe," Blue said, supplying the missing information.  
  
"Right. If all of their Digimon are that strong, then we don't stand a chance. I thought no  
imbecile would try to attack someone stronger than them?"  
  
"That's the thing," White responded. "We don't know how strong they are. That's why we have  
to find out."  
  
White typed on the keyboard again, bringing back the map of the Digiworld onto the screen.  
  
"Here's my plan. Each of you will take a quadrant. You'll pick a sector and start causing  
random havoc. Naturally, the Digidestined will be forced to split into smaller groups to  
handle all of you at once. Engage them in battle, but if you feel that you are overwhelmed,  
do not hesitate to pull back! We're measuring their abilities, not screwing ourselves."  
  
He started to assign each of the henchmen and their Digimon to a quadrant.  
  
"Red and Gizamon, go north. Blue and Betamon, head south. Yellow and Mushroomon, take the  
east. And Green and Hagurumon, you're left with the west."  
  
"What about us?" Gazimon, White's Digimon, asked.  
  
"Patience. We'll get our shot at the Digidestined another time." He then turned to face his  
henchmen. "Do whatever it takes to lure them out. Destroy forests, villages, and any Digimon  
that stand in your way. Don't show these guys any mercy!"  
  
"And what are you going to do?" questioned Red.  
  
"Do some more research on these Digidestined, what else? Anything we can learn about them will  
be an asset to us in our battle against them. Now, go and cause chaos as I have commanded!"  
  
Each of the four henchmen and their Digimon nodded. They then broke down into their teams,  
each going to a different computer terminal. The foursome then pulled out their D-3s and aimed  
them at the monitors, opening portals to their respective destinations.  
  
  
======  
  
  
Ten minutes later, over in Osaka...  
  
Rena was back in the lounge, presenting Izzy and TK with details of yet more attacks in the  
Digiworld.  
  
"Will this ever stop?" TK asked.  
  
"We'll have to split up to take care of these as quickly as possible," Izzy shouted as he  
glanced at TK. "Inform Kari and the others, and then you need to join them. Split into two  
teams. Half of you go to the incident in the north quadrant, the other half to the south."  
  
Izzy handed TK the printouts with those location coordinates on them.  
  
"What about the ones in the east and the west, sir?" Rena asked.  
  
"Sora will come with me. We'll take the east quadrant. I'll contact Tai and Catherine, and  
tell them to meet Mimi in the west."  
  
TK couldn't believe what Izzy had just suggested. "You SURE you want to be sticking Tai and  
Mimi together?"  
  
Izzy nodded. "They need to work out their problems, and the only way they'll do that is if  
they're face to face."  
  
"But how will you get them to go?"  
  
Izzy looked at Rena. "Rena, inform Mimi of the situation and give her the Digiport  
coordinates. But don't tell her that I'm assigning her with Tai."  
  
"Yes sir," Rena saluted. She then turned and ran out of the room.  
  
"I'll talk to Tai and do the same... not letting him know about him being with Mimi."  
  
"I hope you know what you're doing," TK said worriedly.  
  
"Me too. Either they'll get the job done... or they'll tear each other to pieces."  
  
  
======  
  
  
It didn't take long, but after getting the briefing from Izzy, Tai teleported to the scene of  
the incident in the west quadrant. Catherine was in tow, just happy to be part of the action  
for once.  
  
"We have arrived, mon ami!" she exclaimed happily. "West Quadrant, Sector 1.02!"  
  
"Now we just have to wait for our Digimon to get here, along with whomever Izzy assigned us  
with," Tai said.  
  
They didn't have to wait long, as not too far away another Digiport appeared. Out of it  
popped Agumon, Floramon, Palmon... and Mimi. Obviously, neither Tai or Mimi were pleased  
about that.  
  
"This is nuts!" Tai shouted angrily. "Why the hell did Izzy have to send you?"  
  
"You're just lucky I'm not taking out my anger on you!" Mimi shot back as she clenched her  
fist. "Izzy's REALLY going to get it this time!"  
  
"Could we please not fight?" Catherine asked, getting in between the two of them.  
  
"Can't we all just get along?" Agumon cried.  
  
"I'll never understand what's up between them," Palmon said to Floramon. "You're lucky you  
didn't have to hear the argument earlier."  
  
"I'm wishing I wasn't here to hear this one," Floramon stated wishfully.  
  
Catherine and the Digimon sweatdropped as Tai and Mimi quickly got into a glaring contest,  
their heads only a few inches apart from each other.  
  
Luckily... or unluckily, depending on how you look at it, the sound of the huts in a nearby  
desert village being destroyed interrupted the duo.  
  
"We'd better take care of business first," Tai said, not taking his eyes off of Mimi.  
  
"Fine!" Mimi shouted. "Just stay out of my way!"  
  
"And you stay out of mine!"  
  
"Agumon/Palmon, let's go!" the two yelled in unison before running off to the village.  
  
As the two Digimon reluctantly followed their warring human partners, Catherine and Floramon  
were standing in disbelief.  
  
"If this is what break-ups in Japan are like," Catherine began, "then I can certainly rule out  
dating any Japanese guys in my lifetime."  
  
"Catherine, I think we'd better help them out."  
  
"Yeah, we'd better. With those two arguing, they may need me just to get the job done."  
  
  
  
Additional Author's Notes for this Episode:  
Well, the Tai-Mimi relationship is out of the bag, but you'll have to wait one more episode  
before we really find out why they broke up in the first place.  
  
A little bit more information about the five villains was revealed! Their 'real' names have  
yet to be discovered, but eventually they'll come about. And what's this about Red having had  
a 'relationship' with Kari? What's that all about? Stay tuned and see...  
  
  
The next new episode of "The Circle of the Digidestined," won't be until after the holidays,  
probably around January 6th or something like that.  
  
  
***** Next Episode - Mastering Time *****  
The Digidestined are supposed to be fighting the bad guys, but tension between Tai and Mimi  
hits an all-time high during their battle with Green and Hagurumon. Can Catherine get their  
minds focused on the task at hand, or will they fall? Meanwhile, one Digidestined has been  
left uninformed of the situation thus far... but someone wants that to change. 


	7. Mastering Time

"The Circle of the Digidestined," written by Freedom Fighter  
  
Disclaimer: None of the characters, human or Digimon, belong to me, the writer.  
  
Author's Warning: The following fanfic features gruesome character death, both of the human and Digimon kind, violence of varying levels, some profane language, and some suggestive situations. Please do not read this fanfic if you're underage or feel that you cannot handle any of said features.  
  
======  
  
The smoldering remains of a Digimon village lie before the team that had been sent to the West Quadrant. The inhabitants? All gone, either deleted or having fled in fear. As the team explores in hopes of finding any survivors at all, Catherine decides to make a blunt observation.  
  
"We're too late."  
  
"We probably would have gotten here earlier if Mimi hadn't taken so long to get here," Tai shouted, making an excuse up just to get on Mimi's nerves.  
  
"Don't pin this on me!" Mimi retorted. "If you should blame anyone, blame Izzy for not sending us here 'til now!"  
  
"Oh goody, blame the man for everything that's wrong in your life!"  
  
"I do not blame men for everything that's wrong with my life! Just you!"  
  
As Agumon and Palmon step in to separate the two feuding Digidestined, Catherine takes a stand.  
  
"Innocent Digimon are being slain, and all you two want to do is fight with each other! Don't you realize that you are not helping the situation in any way?"  
  
"She's right," Palmon interjected.  
  
"Yeah," Agumon agreed. "This has gone on far enough!"  
  
"You two need to apologize to each other," Catherine suggested, though she did want them to follow through on it.  
  
Unfortunately, neither Tai or Mimi were willing to bite.  
  
"I wouldn't apologize to that woman if she were the last woman on Earth!" Tai shouted.  
  
"I totally wouldn't honor you with an apology even if you were the last man in the universe!" Mimi shot back.  
  
"Ha! Even if you were the last person in the galaxy, I wouldn't forgive you!"  
  
"Galaxies are smaller than universes!"  
  
"And how do you know, Miss 'I Can't Get No Satisfaction?'"  
  
Catherine and the Digimon sighed as Tai and Mimi threw even more verbal jabs at each other.  
  
***** Episode Seven - Mastering Time (02.17.03) *****  
  
Green and Hagurumon were setting up a camp about half a mile outside of the village. Using some hut remains and his lighter, Green was instantly able to start a fire.  
  
"Shouldn't we be waiting for those Digidestined?" Hagurumon asked.  
  
"That's what I'm doing," Green replied nonchalantly. "They'll see our fire and come here to check if anyone saw what was going on. Once we get them in sight, you'll do the rest."  
  
"They won't know what hit 'em! Well, they will know, 'cause all I'll do is throw cogs at them all day, but you get the picture."  
  
"Yes! We'll frame them with your cogs. Get it? Pictures? Frames? It's a joke."  
  
"That's what you humans call a joke?" Hagurumon raised his eyebrow, unimpressed. "I've heard better quips from a Dark Master, and only because someone else writes their lines!"  
  
"When I want your opinion Hagurumon, I'll ask for it."  
  
======  
  
The group split up into Digidestined-Digimon pairings, each making an effort to search the debris for any trapped Digimon.  
  
"Someone really did a number on this place," Tai remarked as he and Agumon tried to move what was left of a Digimon hut that had collapsed during the attack.  
  
"I'll say," Agumon added. "Whatever wrecked this place must be pretty strong."  
  
"So? No problem! If this guy's some freaky ultimate-level baddie, then you can digivolve and kick his sorry ass from here to Primary Village!"  
  
"But I haven't digivolved in a long time! What if something goes wrong?"  
  
"Biyomon didn't have any problems in Paris. Everything'll be fine. Just leave it to ol' Tai."  
  
======  
  
"I bet this place used to be a magical wonderland," Mimi commented as she picked up a tattered pink window curtain from among a pile of rubble.  
  
"I don't know about magical, but I sure know this place was a wonderland!" Palmon stated.  
  
"How so?"  
  
"Well, the old rustic, classic look is in around these parts. Villages like these resemble those of the real world... only dated about 200 years."  
  
"200 years? I bet their fashion sense was just as outdated!"  
  
"Still, there aren't many places like this one left in the Digiworld. The nostalgia's worn off thanks to human technology, and old villages like these are becoming scarce."  
  
Mimi sniffled as she tried to hold back tears. "Reminds me of my freshman year in college. Everything I wore as a high school senior was out of style. I loved a lot of it, but I wanted to keep my sense of style too. It's hard when you have to let go of the past."  
  
Palmon sweatdropped. "Too bad you haven't."  
  
"What do you mean? I got a whole new wardrobe and moved on with my life!"  
  
"No! I'm talking about you and Tai!"  
  
Mimi crossed her arms over her chest as she turned away in disgust.  
  
"Tai never treated me right from day one of that relationship! I'll never forgive him for what he did to ruin my life!"  
  
"You can't be serious!"  
  
"I'm dead serious, Palmon! Tai can walk off a cliff, for all I care!"  
  
======  
  
"Mimi can burn herself in a frying pan, for all I care!"  
  
"Tai... you know that doesn't make any sense."  
  
"So what? I'm tired of Mimi's 'all that' attitude and I wish she were gone from my life for good!"  
  
"Why are you all bent up on Mimi again? A minute ago we were talking about what we were going to do when we found the guys who burnt this village down!"  
  
"That was a minute ago! Now I'm talking about Mimi."  
  
"Look, I know you never told me what drove you two apart in the first place..."  
  
"And it's none of your business!"  
  
"But after all these years, I have to get into it! Especially if it's been eating you up from inside since then!"  
  
"Mimi and I had one disagreement about one little thing, she blew it way out of proportion, and then we ended up splitting up!"  
  
======  
  
"Tai and I always disagreed, and he made sure he always got his way! He was never fair to me!"  
  
"I know friends disagree, but that doesn't mean you two have to hate each other for the rest of your lives for it."  
  
"It does in our case! He ordered me around as if I were a slave to him! Do you know how that feels? To be a slave to someone?"  
  
"Yes... but you can't really compare..."  
  
"It was always 'Mimi do this, Mimi do that!' I got sick of it, so I dumped him!"  
  
Palmon thought for a minute before continuing. "You're really happy that you did?"  
  
"What kind of stupid question is that? Of course I'm really happy!"  
  
"Then why do you still talk about it as if you two were still together?"  
  
Mimi froze. She was very hesitant to answer, and Palmon could see that in her eyes.  
  
"No way! You mean you still..."  
  
Mimi started to walk away. "I don't know what you're talking about. There is no 'I still.'"  
  
======  
  
Tai unlocked the door to his apartment and then let Mimi go in ahead of him. She stuck her tongue out in disgust, as she always did, upon lying eyes on the pig sty Tai and his roommates called their living quarters.  
  
"Eewwww," Mimi complained, bending down and picking up a banana peel that was on the floor in front of her. "There is such a thing as a garbage can, you know."  
  
"When you're as busy as I am," Tai began, walking past Mimi, "it's hard to find time to clean."  
  
"How do you expect girls to come here with all of this garbage and junk all over the place?"  
  
"We don't," Tai replied, heading for the kitchen. "We know better to bring them here. We just go to their place."  
  
"What would your parents say if they saw this place like this?" Mimi saw a 'The Fast and the Furious' DVD acting as a coaster for one of Tai's roommate's coffee mugs.  
  
"That's why I have you," Tai smiled. "You always seem to do wonders for this place."  
  
"About that... Tai, we need to talk."  
  
"What? Don't tell me you just had your nails done."  
  
"This is serious, Tai!"  
  
"I am being serious!"  
  
"Tai, you can't depend on me to be all motherly and clean up after you guys." Mimi then cringed as she saw a dirty piece of men's underwear wrapped around a mini- bamboo tree.  
  
"I thought you loved this stuff! All women do, don't they?"  
  
Mimi began to get angry. "For your information, some women don't like cleaning up after others! Especially after people like your roommates!"  
  
But Tai didn't seem to really get it. "In that case, just clean my stuff and I'll take care of theirs. No biggie."  
  
"Yes biggie, Tai! I'm tired of being your maid!"  
  
"Maid? Mimi, if you were our maid, we would be paying you to clean our room."  
  
"So I am a maid to you, am I?"  
  
"No one's forcing you to clean up after us."  
  
"Good. That's what I thought."  
  
"By the way," Tai held up a pair of black shoes and a small jar of shoe polish. "do you mind polishing my shoes? I have to do a speech com presentation on Monday."  
  
Mimi, enraged beyond belief, snatches the jar out of Tai's hands, and untwists the lid. She then dips her left hand in and then runs it through Tai's hair.  
  
"Ack!" Tai yelped, grabbing Mimi's hand tightly and dropping his shoes on the floor in the process.  
  
"Let go of me!" Mimi yelled, using her free hand to smear the polish all over Tai's face.  
  
As Tai let go, Mimi turned and stomped out of the apartment.  
  
"It's over, Tai! I never want to see you again!"  
  
"Mimi, wait!"  
  
Tai tried to wipe the polish from his eyes, but Mimi had already slammed the door behind her.  
  
======  
  
"You could've blinded me for life, Mimi!"  
  
"That would've been a good thing, Tai!"  
  
Back in present time, Agumon and Palmon look each other weirdly as Tai and Mimi are facing each other once again, arguing like there's no tomorrow.  
  
"Do you know how much I had to pay for therapy?"  
  
"I bet it was a whole lot more than you spent on me!"  
  
"It's a small town after all," Palmon said to Agumon.  
  
"Yeah!" Agumon added. "It didn't take long for Tai and Mimi to find each other, did it?"  
  
"Why can't you just get out of my life?" Mimi asked.  
  
"Just get out of mine," Tai replied. "At least I'm satisfied that way."  
  
"That's all you ever want to be! Satisfied!"  
  
"Like you ever satisfied me any."  
  
Mimi slapped Tai across the face, leaving a red handprint where she had hit him.  
  
"That stings!" Tai yelled, rubbing where the handprint was. "What'd you do that for?"  
  
"You know I hate it when you lie to me!"  
  
"I never lied to you in my life!"  
  
Mimi slapped Tai again, this time using her left hand. But now Mimi were both cringing in pain, as her left hand was the weakest of the two, and thus, she had felt it more when she hit him.  
  
"Ow! See what you did now? I think I broke my wrist."  
  
Tai, ignoring the pain in his cheeks, reaches over and tries to check Mimi's injured wrist. But she immediately pulls away.  
  
"I can examine myself, thank you very much!"  
  
"You might want to put some ice on that," Tai suggested.  
  
"Don't tell me what to do!"  
  
"Fine! If you want that to get infected..."  
  
"Oh, alright already! Anything to get you to shut up!"  
  
Mimi extended her left arm out as Tai carefully lays out his hand for her wrist to rest on.  
  
"But Tai," Agumon began, "where are you going to find ice around here?"  
  
Before Tai could answer, Palmon used her vines to close Agumon's mouth shut.  
  
"Shhh!" she shushed, putting a finger up to her mouth.  
  
"Mimi... it's been 20 years since and... everyone's right, you know. We have to stop letting the past affect the present."  
  
"Maybe you're right. I'm tired of arguing about it anyway."  
  
"Yeah, me too."  
  
Mimi slowly pulled her arm away and let it drop to her side. She then gazed longingly into Tai's eyes. He did the same. Suddenly, their two faces began to get closer. Before they knew it, their lips were only a few inches apart.  
  
"Look out!" yelled a woman's voice from afar.  
  
Leave it to Catherine to spoil the romantic moment, but she had good reason to. Hagurumon was charging right for the quartet, and Catherine and Kiwimon weren't fast enough to stop him.  
  
"Agumon!" Tai yelled, raising his orange D-3 into the air as Mimi did the same with her pink one.  
  
"Agumon digivolve to... Greymon!"  
  
"Palmon digivolve to... Togemon!"  
  
The two rookies digivolved to champion. Along with Kiwimon, the champion- level form of Floramon, the three surrounded Hagurumon.  
  
"Let's get 'em, mes amis!" Catherine yelled.  
  
"Out of my way!" came the voice of Green, pushing Catherine aside as he passed. "Hagurumon, you know what to do!"  
  
"Cog Crusher!" Hagurumon shouted, materializing a cog out of nowhere and heaving it at Greymon. Luckily, the dinosaur Digimon caught it easily.  
  
"Is that the best you can do?" Greymon asked, tossing it aside.  
  
"Clean his clock!" Tai exclaimed.  
  
"Show him how rude it is to interrupt, Togemon!" Mimi told her Digimon.  
  
"Nova Blast!"  
  
"Have a taste of Needle Spray!"  
  
"Pummel Peck!"  
  
The three Digimon attacks were strong enough to knock Hagurumon out. If not for the Digimon's hard shell, it would have been deleted easily.  
  
"Enough!" Green shouted, pulling out a white D-3 from his pants pocket.  
  
"Sacre bleu!" Catherine gasped. "He has a Digivice!"  
  
A Digiport opened underneath Hagurumon, immediately dropping the Digimon in. The hole closed just as quickly as it had appeared, dematerializing before Greymon, Togemon, or Kiwimon could stop it.  
  
"Just who do you think you are?" Tai asked.  
  
"You'll pay for what you and your friends did to Joe!" Mimi yelled angrily, clenching her fists.  
  
"And for ruining the great city of Paris!" added Catherine.  
  
"This is only the beginning," said Green as a smile creeped onto his face. He then began pushing buttons on his D-3 to open a Digiport of his own. "'Til we meet again."  
  
Green jumps into the Digiport, which immediately closes behind him.  
  
"We have to go after him!" Catherine shouted as she ran up to the others.  
  
"How?" Tai asked. "We have no way of knowing where he went."  
  
The three champion-level Digimon de-digivolved back to their rookie forms.  
  
"That guy wasn't that strong," Agumon told the group.  
  
"Neither was his Digimon," added Palmon.  
  
"Sorry about letting them get to you," Catherine apologized. "Hagurumon got behind Floramon and I before we knew it."  
  
"Don't worry," Mimi said, "you weren't interrupting anything important."  
  
"We just decided to forgive each other for the past 20 years," Tai told her.  
  
"Oh," Catherine smirked. "And did you seal the deal with a kiss?"  
  
Tai and Mimi's face instantly went red.  
  
"What are you, crazy?"  
  
"Yeah! Do you know what Michael would do to me if he found out I kissed another man?"  
  
"The same thing for Misato! 'Fraternizing with the enemy' she calls it."  
  
"That may be the way you forgive each other in France... but not in America or Japan!"  
  
Catherine shrugged her shoulders. "At least you two aren't fighting anymore. Thank goodness."  
  
A Digiport materialized in front of the group, thanks to Catherine's D-3.  
  
"I'll inform Izzy of what's happened here."  
  
She then ran into the Digiport, with Floramon right behind her.  
  
"Let's go see if there are any survivors left," Palmon suggested.  
  
"But Palmon, didn't we already..."  
  
Palmon's vines wrapped around Agumon's jaws again as she pulled him back into the ruins of the destroyed Digimon village behind them. That left Tai and Mimi alone. The two didn't hesitate to pick up where they left off, as their lips met for the first time in 20 years.  
  
======  
  
Aboard Space Station Zum, halfway between Earth and the moon...  
  
Matt Ishida was in the middle of an experiment with his partner, a 13-year old aqua blue ponytailed-hair girl named Penelope Gomez. The two were hard at work trying to see if it was possible to build a toothpick model of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge in zero gravity and while the structure was floating.  
  
No, it wasn't one of the station's scheduled experiments for the day. It was just a way for Matt and Penelope to take their minds off of their real work.  
  
"I didn't expect that being the first teenager ever in space would be so much fun," Penelope said happily.  
  
"Everyone's making such a big deal of it," Matt stated as he glued another toothpick onto the structure. "You're working on the experiments with the rest of us. I don't see any difference."  
  
"Child prodigies usually are the experiments. We're tested like lab rats, sent to college early, and put into high-tech positions like computer engineering and the like. No one's ever thought of actually sending one into space."  
  
"You'd think the guys at NASA would be worried about if your body could handle space travel. I guess they knew what they were doing."  
  
"That's true. I've been up here two months already and I haven't been ill once."  
  
"That's what's so weird about it. You mean you've felt normal, as if you were still on Earth?"  
  
Penelope nodded.  
  
"You sure you're not an android? Or an alien?"  
  
"If I was an android, I would have been capable of completing the calcium- neon-sodium transfusion days ago. As for being an alien, I would probably have already probed you. Or eaten you alive."  
  
Matt sweatdropped. "That's good to know."  
  
"Speaking of which, we really should get back to work. Figuring out which ions would be gained or lost in the atomic structure of the chemical compound is more important than building a one-hundredth scale model of the Golden Gate Bridge with teeth-cleaning tools."  
  
"Yeah... sure," Matt agreed, not really understanding it all.  
  
"I'll go retrieve the particle diffuser apparatus that will be needed to break apart the nucleus of the three atoms."  
  
As Penelope walked out, Matt breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
"I swear! She's a female version of Izzy when she was his age... only she's a whole lot smarter."  
  
======  
  
Elsewhere on the space station, Gabumon is staying out of trouble by remaining inside Matt's sleeping quarters. Gabumon was content to catch some Z's on Matt's bed. In fact, he was so deep asleep that he didn't notice the flashing D-3 floating around on the other side of the room.  
Additional Author's Notes: Finally! One coupling's problems solved. The Tai and Mimi fiasco is now done and over with, and now we can move on to resolve another.  
  
In the flashback scene, Tai is a college sophomore and Mimi's a college freshman. Although never mentioned specifically, both attended the State University of New York's Stony Brook campus. I used that college because I've been there before. But that's diving into my personal life, so moving on...  
  
Penelope Gomez may draw similarities to another anime character that some of you may very well know. I'm not letting it out of the bag, but this was intentional, and if you can figure out who Penelope is based off of, I'd be very pleased.  
  
With "The Detectives Kamiya" now back in session, there will unfortunately be a hiatus for this series. If worst comes to worst, you guys may be stuck without a new episode of this fanfic for another two months. That may seem hard to you guys after waiting nearly two months for the one you just finished reading above, but I have no other choice.  
  
So please bear with me... I still intend to see this through to the end, wherever and whenever that may be.  
  
***** Next Episode - What's the Stitch? ***** It's off to the grassy knolls of the eastern quadrant of the Digital World! Sora, Izzy, Biyomon, and Tentomon try to stop Yellow and Mushroommon from terrorizing the forest populace! If this is no laughing matter, then why can't Biyomon and Tentomon control themselves? Plus, because you asked for it, two more of the Digidestined's families make their grand entrance! 


	8. What's the Stitch?

"The Circle of the Digidestined," written by Freedom Fighter  
  
Disclaimer: None of the characters, human or Digimon, belong to me, the writer.  
  
Author's Warning: The following fanfic features gruesome character death, both  
of the human and Digimon kind, violence of varying levels, some profane language,  
and some suggestive situations. Please do not read this fanfic if you're underage  
or feel that you cannot handle any of said features.  
  
******  
  
Izzy Izumi and Sora Ishida were standing right next to one of the portal   
generators in the research laboratory, ready to go to the Digital World. The rest  
of the staff was running about, making final preparations for the duo's trip.  
  
"I still don't know about your decision to send Tai and Mimi off together," stated  
Sora, who had a very worried look on her face.  
  
"They needed to work things out," Izzy told her. "It's a well-known fact that  
to resolve an argument, you have to talk your way out of it until you find what  
caused it."  
  
"But what if they try to kill each other? You're taking an awfully big risk."  
  
"They're adults, Sora. I'm sure they're big enough to fix their mistakes."  
  
"You'd better be right. If anything happens to either of them..."  
  
Izzy held his hands up, as if to defend himself. "Okay, okay! Geese...  
everyone's on my case these days!"  
  
"The coordinates are set, sir!" shouted Yoshi, one of the researchers. "There's  
a permanent portal there already, but we'll be standing by if we need to generate  
a second for an escape route."  
  
"I guess we're ready then," Izzy glanced at Sora. "Ready?"  
  
"Ready as I'll ever be," Sora replied. "Let's go put a stop to these guys."  
  
"Good luck!" wished Yoshi as he pressed a button on his console, opening the  
portal.  
  
Izzy and Sora stepped towards the portal, but before they could be whisked away  
to their destination...  
  
"Hey, stop!"  
  
Everyone turned their attention to the lab entrance to see what was going on. It  
seemed that a middle-aged woman was forcing her way through the guards. Even  
more amazing was the fact that she had three children with her.  
  
"Michelle? Sam?"  
  
Sora called out to two of the children by name. After all, they were hers.  
  
"Mom?" the two children cried out in unison.  
  
"If those are your children, Sora," Izzy deduced, "then that must be..."  
  
Izzy finally recognized the woman that was with them. The brown-reddish spiky  
hair should have given her away. It was Davis's older sister, June.  
  
***** Episode Eight - What's the Stitch? (05.22.03) *****  
  
Michelle and Sam Ishida were the two offspring of Matt and Sora. In fact, they  
resembled their parents in almost every way. Almost because of one exception...  
Michelle had Matt's boyish good looks, while Sam was blessed with Sora's beauty.  
  
The two of them wrapped themselves around each of their mother's legs. They  
hadn't seen her in a week, and obviously, they weren't used to being without her  
for so long. They were used to seeing their father gone because he was an  
astronaut. And usually when their mother went out of the country to do fashion  
shows, she'd take them with her.  
  
But Sora had decided to leave them in Tokyo this time around... with their  
babysitter, June Motimiya, even though Michelle was already ten and Sam was eight  
years old. And as Sora was about to find out, that had been a bad decision.  
  
"June, what are you doing here?" asked Sora.  
  
"I knew you were here!" Jun exclaimed, pointing at the Digidestined of Love.  
"Why didn't you tell me when you got back? I would've brought you your brats  
back!"  
  
"We're not brats!" Michelle proclaimed.  
  
"Yeah, you meanie woman!" added Sam.  
  
"Michelle! Sam!" Sora glanced down at her children. "Don't talk to June like  
that!"  
  
"But she treated us like jailbirds!" shouted Michelle. "She makes us take a nap  
when we get home from school! She doesn't let us watch TV at all! And she feeds  
us instant microwave dinners for dinner!"  
  
"What's wrong with that?" her mother asked.  
  
"She does it all while smoking!"  
  
"June!"  
  
"I don't smoke around the kids, Sora, I swear!" Jun confessed, holding her hand  
up in defense.  
  
"Yes you do, Auntie June!" cried the third kid, who was standing next to June.  
This one was Davis's son, Davis Jr., made evident by the fact that he looked  
exactly like Davis had when the elder Motimiya was eight.  
  
"Davis Junior!" June huffed, putting her hands on her hips.  
  
"You should know better," Sora stated.  
  
"Yeah!" Izzy added. "Aren't you aware of the chemicals in cigarettes that could  
kill you?"  
  
"I've smoked for nine years and it's never caused me any problems."  
  
"Speak for yourself," Izzy said as he fanned the air around him.  
  
"She makes Sam cough a lot," admitted Michelle as she glanced at her brother.  
  
To prove her point, Sam mockingly coughed once.  
  
"June, don't tell me you came all the way down here just to find Sora," said  
Izzy.  
  
"Actually, I'm here to find my brother Davis. Have you seen him around?"  
  
"Why? Did something bad happen?"  
  
"No. It's just that his wife Dora wants him home soon. It's almost time for  
dinner."  
  
"Davis is kinda preoccupied at the moment..."  
  
======  
  
Davis was actually in the northern quadrant of the Digital World, accompanying  
TK and Kari as they tried to get rid of the disturbance there.  
  
"This is the right place," Kari commented, checking out the coordinates on her  
D-3, "but there's nothing here."  
  
"No village, no Digimon, nothing but trees," TK observed, referring to the barren  
forestland they were surrounded them.  
  
"Are you sure you gave us the right coordinates, BK?" Davis asked.  
  
TK growled under his breath. "Davis, how many times do I have to tell you it's  
TK? And yes, I did put in the right coordinates."  
  
"Wait a..." Kari interrupted, walking away from the duo and towards something  
on the ground.  
  
"What is it?" both of the men asked at the same time.  
  
Kari kneeled down and examined the liquid on the ground.  
  
"Just as I suspected... it's blood."  
  
"Blood?" TK asked. "You mean someone got hurt around here?"  
  
"It may be more than one," Kari replied as she pointed to trail of blood that  
led away from their current position.  
  
"Maybe we should get Patamon and the others to come to us."  
  
"But aren't they examining the area where all those trees went down?" queried  
a worried Kari.  
  
"I'll go find them!" Davis cut in, turning around and running back to the spot  
they had entered the Digiworld from.  
  
"Are you sure we should..."  
  
"It's okay, Kari. Davis can handle himself. In the meantime, let's see where  
this trail leads to."  
  
The two of them walked down the path and out of view, unaware of what awaited  
them just ahead.  
  
======  
  
In the real world, Izzy had just finished explaining the situation to June. It  
obviously didn't go over too well with her, especially after hearing about what  
happened to Joe.  
  
"Joe's gone? Not him too!" Jun exclaimed, falling to her knees.  
  
"I didn't know you cared about Joe," Izzy said.  
  
"Don't you remember that she used to be married to one of Jim's older brothers?"  
asked Sora, trying to jog Izzy's memory from years back. "Joe's pretty much a  
family member to her."  
  
"I never got a chance to know him well," Jun said as she tried to hold back  
tears. "I should have, because after what happened to his brothers..."  
  
"There, there," Izzy consoled, nodding to two of his fellow researchers. "It'll  
be all right. We're going to take care of this. And I promise... Davis will be  
back sooner than you know it."  
  
The two researchers led June off to another room, and Davis's son followed her.  
But Sora's two kids were still hovering around their mother, a bit in shock over  
what had just transpired.  
  
"Mommy..." Sam began, "what happened to Uncle Joe?"  
  
"Will we ever see him again?" asked Michelle.  
  
Sora hesitated in giving an answer. After all, they weren't exactly schooled  
in the concept of death.  
  
"What do we do now?" Sora glanced over at Izzy. "How do I explain this?"  
  
"Do I look like someone who does consoling speeches?"  
  
"Mimi's right about you... you still don't care about other people's feelings."  
  
"That's not true!"  
  
"Daddy... I can explain it to them."  
  
The two elder Digidestined turned to look at Chiharu, Izzy's daughter, who had  
come into the lab undetected.  
  
"I've been reading some research papers online about how to deal with this. Just  
leave it to me!"  
  
"That's my girl!" Izzy exclaimed happily. "See, Chiharu can take care of it."  
  
"You still don't get it, do you?" Sora shouted... but she sighed, knowing that  
she had no other choice. "But then again, we don't have time now to do it  
ourselves. Are you sure you're up to it, Chiharu?"  
  
Chiharu bowed before Sora gracefully. "I definitely wouldn't have volunteered  
for this had I believed that I wasn't capable of fufilling my assigned duty."  
  
"Good," Sora smiled, only half-understanding Chiharu. "Michelle and Sam, you  
two go with Chiharu, okay?"  
  
"But what about Uncle Joe?" the two children repeated, this time in unison.  
  
"I know of the whereabouts of Uncle Joe," Chiharu told them, "but to tell you  
requires an extensive explanation. Follow me, please."  
  
Chiharu led Michelle and Sam out of the lab room, leaving Sora and Izzy to  
finally make the trip to the Digital World.  
  
"After all of these years..." Sora mumbled, clenching her fist in anger.  
  
"I know I'm not the sensitive type, Sora. But when you're a researcher, you  
tend to put more important things first."  
  
"You consider that not important? Joe visited us a lot so that his boy John  
could play with Michelle and Sam! He's the closest person they have to a father  
whenever Matt is off in space!"  
  
"I'm sorry, Sora! I didn't know!"  
  
"You would know if you didn't spend all your time around computers. Or  
researching the Digital World."  
  
Izzy sighed in defeat. "You're right. I should've learned better over these  
years. In fact, Sakura's been helping me fix that. But I guess I still have a  
lot to learn."  
  
Sora eased up and gave Izzy a reassuring pat on the back. "As long as you're  
willing to admit that you still have that problem, I'm satisfied. But you'd  
better shape up soon."  
  
"Of course, Sora! Now can we go to the Digiworld?"  
  
"Izzy!"  
  
"I'm not being insensitive! If you've forgotten, Sora, we've got a job to do,  
and Biyomon and Tentomon are already waiting for us."  
  
"Oh... right. Let's go then! Yoshi, keep an eye on our vitals in case  
anything goes wrong!"  
  
"Hey! I'm supposed to say that!"  
  
Yoshi nodded as the two Digidestined stepped into the portal and headed to  
their destination.  
  
======  
  
Izzy and Sora arrived in Sector 9.10 of the Eastern Quadrant of the Digiworld,  
landing in a grassy plain that was in the center of a small Digimon community.  
There were no houses or huts, so to speak, just nests. Usually this area was  
populated with all kinds of Digimon, from Tanemon to Snimon. Many of them  
were nowhere to be found, but there were some laughing on the ground in front  
of Sora and Izzy.  
  
"Are they... laughing?" Izzy noted as he spotted two Floramon, six Palmon, a  
Mushroommon, and three Snimon.  
  
"Seems like it to me," observed Sora. "But why are they laughing about this?  
Aren't they distraught over how their living space was disturbed?"  
  
"They are... they just can't express themselves that way," came a strange voice.  
  
Izzy and Sora turned and saw a Mushroommon standing before them with a smirk on  
his face.  
  
"Are you the one responsible for this?" shouted a not-too-pleased Sora.  
  
"May-be... what's it to you?" the Mushroommon shot back.  
  
"You're hurting innocent Digimon!" Izzy exclaimed.  
  
"Hurt? They're just having a good laugh."  
  
Mushroommon then looked back into the bushes, as if to signal someone to come  
out. And indeed someone did... the second of the five 'intruders,' Yellow.  
  
"Who are you?" asked Izzy, out of curiosity and because they needed to know.  
  
"Although I have a real name, I choose not to reveal it to protect my identity.  
But if you must call me something... you can call me by the color of my shirt,  
Yellow!"  
  
"Where'd you get that idea from?" came the query from an unimpressed Sora.  
"I wouldn't exactly be going around and nicknaming myself after a color of  
the rainbow if I were you."  
  
"Maybe so, but it won't matter after we get done with you! Mushroommon?"  
  
"Right," the toadstool-looking Digimon nodded. "Fungus Crusher!"  
  
Mushroommon threw a barrage of exploding mushrooms at Sora and Izzy, as the two  
leapt out of the way just in the nick of time.  
  
"That's one powerful attack," Izzy stated, noting the hole in the ground that  
had replaced the plot of land he and Sora had just been standing on.  
  
"No kidding," Sora added as she got up from the ground and held up her D-3 up  
high.  
  
"What's that?" Yellow asked, not recognizing the object at first.  
  
"That's a D-3," Izzy replied as he raised his into the air. "And for the two of  
you, that means trouble."  
  
The two D-3s, Izzy's mahogany brown and Sora's yellow, lit up, attracting  
the attention of their own two Digimon. Tentomon and Biyomon, who had been  
tending to some injured Tanemon nearby, rushed to the rescue of their partners.  
  
"Tentomon!" the bug-type Digimon announced, landing in front of Izzy.  
  
"Biyomon!" the bird-type Digimon shouted in a similar fashion.  
  
"Two Digimon?" Yellow began shaking in fear as the odds were now against him.  
  
"No worries!" Mushroommon stated confidently. "They're mine! Laughing Smasher!"  
  
Mushroommon doused the two Digimon with some sort of yellow, pollen-like powder.  
Before they knew it, Tentomon and Biyomon were suddenly rolling on the ground,  
laughing uncontrollably.  
  
"Biyomon, get up!"  
  
"I... snicker... can't Sora... ha ha ha!"  
  
"Tentomon!"  
  
"Tee hee... I can't stop... ha... laughing!"  
  
"Now they're just like the other Digimon of the forest," Mushroommon laughed (of  
his own free will, of course).  
  
"Good going, Mushroommon!" Yellow applauded. "These Digidestined are weaker than  
we thought! Let's finish them!"  
  
"You'll have to get through me first!" Sora shouted, charging right at Yellow and  
Mushroommon.  
  
"Aaaahhh... Sora! Are you crazy?"  
  
"She's an idiot... Mushroommon, take care of her!"  
  
"Fungus Crusher!"  
  
Mushroommon threw a bunch of exploding mushrooms right into Sora's path, but she  
easily dodged them.  
  
"What? She dodged them?"  
  
"Fungus Crusher, Fungus Crusher, FUNGUS CRUSHER!"  
  
Mushroommon continued to fire mushrooms upon mushrooms on Sora, but she continued  
to dodge them at every turn. Despite being in her late 30s in age, Sora could  
still utilize most of the agility she had developed during her days playing  
primary school soccer and high school tennis.  
  
"She's so fast for an old woman!" Yellow exclaimed.  
  
"I'm not old!" Sora shouted angrily as she got close enough to free kick the  
Mushroommon right into Yellow's stomach, knocking both of them back. "I'm a  
young 39-year old woman who can still score one heck of a goal!"  
  
Knocking Mushroommon off his feet was enough to dispel the effects of his  
Laughing Smasher's spell, freeing all of the forest Digimon from their fits of  
laughter, as well as Biyomon and Tentomon.  
  
"Wow... Sora actually did it," Izzy said, relieved.  
  
"It's our turn now!" Biyomon shouted proudly.  
  
"Super Shocker!" Tentomon shot an electric bolt out from between his wings.  
  
"Spiral Twister!" Biyomon fired a green beam of swirling wind from her beak.  
  
The two attacks combined and hit Mushroommon and Yellow full force. Yellow was  
mostly unharmed, since Mushroommon was taking the brunt of the hit, but both were  
still severely weakened.  
  
"Geese... I guess they are strong!" Yellow said in a panic as he used his D-3  
to open a Digiport.  
  
Izzy gasped. "He's got a D-3, just like Mimi said!"  
  
"Let's get out of here!"  
  
Yellow picked Mushroommon up and rushed into the portal. Sora raced to try and  
get to the portal before it closed, but she wasn't fast enough to get there in  
time.  
  
Sora snapped her fingers. "I almost had him!"  
  
"That's okay, Sora," Izzy told her as he walked over. "As long as we both got a  
good view of his face, we can head back to the lab and have the police do a  
background check on him."  
  
"Good. If he and his friends think they can get away with this, then they're  
sadly mistaken."  
  
Sora then noticed that Izzy was on the brink of bursting out in laughter.  
  
"What's so funny, Izzy?"  
  
"I've never seen someone run that fast in my life! In fact, the only reason why  
a person would run that fast towards a complete stranger would be to make out..."  
  
Before Izzy could finish, Sora ran over and clotheslined him to the ground.  
Once that was done, Sora smiled as she rubbed the part of her forearm that had  
hit Izzy's forehead.  
  
"There's another reason to visit your friends more often. You would've known  
that I took self-defense classes a few months ago."  
  
"That's good to know," mumbled Izzy as he held his aching forehead.  
  
======  
  
Back in the real world, a certain housewife had just finished cooking a dinner  
of fried rice, baked flounder, and steamed vegetables. But as the blue-haired  
beauty with goggles in her hair, an apron over her beige blouse, and a brown  
knee-length skirt set up the table, she had one thing on her mind.  
  
"Where are those two?" she screamed as she saw that her husband and her only  
son were not at the table. "Davis had better be home from work soon, or, so  
help me God, he's really going to get it!"  
  
The woman, Davis's wife Dora, stomped over to the phone and dialed up the number  
for the "Noodle Noodle, Come Get Your Noodle" head office in East Shinjuku, where  
Davis worked.  
  
"Sandy? Yes, this is Dora. Could you please put my husband on the phone so I  
can get him to come home?"  
  
After a few seconds of silence for Dora to hear Sandy's response...  
  
"What do you mean he left his office early and you don't know where he is?"  
  
With that, Dora slammed the receiver on the phone. She fumed angrily as she  
grabbed her car keys and headed out the front door.  
  
******  
  
Author's Notes:  
Boy, am I glad that this is finally back underway? I hope you're all glad too,  
because there's a lot to cover in the next six week string of episodes!  
  
It's weird for me to write Sora's last name as Ishida when I'm so used to having  
it as Takenouchi. Maybe it's the Tai-Sora side of me that made me feel reluctant  
to do it. After all, when Mimi was introduced back in Episode One, I used her  
maiden name Tachikawa instead of the name she adopted when she married Michael...  
which will be revealed in a later episode.  
  
We also got to meet Matt and Sora's two children, Michelle and Sam, as well as  
June and Davis's wife and son, Dora and Davis Jr. No inspiration for the names  
here really, though the Davis Motimiya family all have names that begin with 'D.'  
Strange coincidence that Joe Kido's family also have first names that start with  
the same letter... in this case, 'J' (Jean and John).  
  
It's also worthy to note that while in the past June's first name was Jun, I've  
decided to change it to June. This is the spelling given by Chris McFeely at The  
Digimon Encyclopedia website, and with Megchan gone, he is the closest person to  
the Digimon community. And thus, that means that everything on his site is fact.  
So since Jun was spelled June on the site, thus Jun is now June.  
  
Speaking of June and her former marriage to Joe's older brother Jim... you'll  
get the details of that later on too.  
  
And a little CCS-connection. We now know that Izzy's wife is named Sakura.  
That's in addition to the fact that their daughter's name is Chiharu, as  
established all the way back in the first episode.  
  
***** Next Episode - Go Get a Room! *****  
Get your jackets out as the southern quadrant of the Digital World is in the middle of the  
winter season! Yolei snuggles up with Ken to stay warm, which disgusts Cody to no end. But  
they're not the only ones being lovey-dovey, as evident by Blue and his Betamon's rather  
friendly partnership. That, and more from Dora Motimiya... and Matt Ishida too! 


	9. Go Get a Room!

"The Circle of the Digidestined," written by Freedom Fighter  
  
Disclaimer: None of the characters, human or Digimon, belong to me, the writer.  
  
Author's Warning: The following fanfic features gruesome character death, both  
of the human and Digimon kind, violence of varying levels, some profane language,  
and some suggestive situations. Please do not read this fanfic if you're underage  
or feel that you cannot handle any of said features.  
  
This particular episode features sensitive sexual dialogue and some mild language.  
  
******  
  
Gabumon was up and about after his little nap, running through the halls of  
Space Station Zum with his partner's dark green D-3 in his paws. It was obvious  
that Gabumon was looking for Matt. The problem was that he couldn't find him.  
  
"Matt! Matt! Where are you? We have an emergency!"  
  
Gabumon had a feeling that there was something wrong in the Digital World, and  
that it was imperative that he and Matt get there to investigate. But his  
search for the Digidestined astronaut wasn't going anywhere... and it didn't  
help matters that he was running towards the end of the station opposite of  
where Matt was.  
  
======  
  
Speaking of Matt, he and Penelope continued to work on their calcium-neon-sodium  
compound that lay in a protective glass casing. Wearing gloves, Matt stuck his  
hands through the casing's two armholes and began to pick at the compound with  
a popsicle stick.  
  
"Um, Matt? I don't think it would be wise to stir the mixture," Penelope  
advised.  
  
"Are you sure? I've done this with calcium-sodium mixtures, neon-sodium mixtures,  
and calcium-neon mixtures, and nothing's happened! What are the chances of  
something happening here?"  
  
As luck would have it, something did happen. But nothing as dangerous as the  
young prodigy had predicted, as the mixture begins to turn a glowing green.  
But the sodium was dissolving quickly, and their compound was breaking up fast.  
In fact, the neon gas began to filter out of the casing and into the room.  
Matt and Penelope rushed out of the room as fast as they could. Just in time,  
too, for seconds later that particular laboratory exploded in a flash of bright  
neon light, blinding the duo and anyone else nearby.  
  
======  
  
On Earth, in the streets of Tokyo, a young couple was among those crossing a busy  
intersection when the female of the pair spotted something in the sky.  
  
"Look dear! A star... and a bright one at that!"  
  
The male looked up, and just as he did, the 'star' disappeared.  
  
"How gullible do you think I am?" the man asked. "Who ever heard of stars  
during the day, much less within the city?"  
  
======  
  
Back on the space station, the light of the 'star' burned out, making things in  
the laboratory visible again. Matt and Penelope crawled back in and spotted  
that their mixture had evaporated. Nothing of it was left. The three-element  
compound was completely gone.  
  
"We don't have another one of those on board, do we?" Matt asked.  
  
"No," Penelope replied, "and I told you that stirring the mixture was a bad  
idea."  
  
"It wasn't that bad of an idea... we're still alive and well, right?"  
  
Matt then headed to the door to go and see if they had a spare casing of their  
experimental mixture. Unfortunately, the light had blinded Matt enough so that  
he mistook the door out of the room for the door leading into the restroom  
next door.  
  
"Ouch!" Matt yelled, as the sound of him tripping over the toilet bowl rang  
through the air.  
  
Penelope opened her mouth to utter a familiar five-letter word, but thinks better  
of it. After all, she wouldn't wanted to be arrested for copyright infringement  
of a girl from another time and anime series.  
  
***** Episode Nine - Go Get a Room! (05.29.03) *****  
  
From the cold reaches of outer space to the cold mountains of the southern  
quadrant of the Digital World we go, as Ken, Yolei, Cody, Wormmon, Hawkmon, and  
Armadillomon arrive at their destination.  
  
"This should be it," Ken said, checking the coordinates on his Digivice. "The  
Southern Quadrant, Sector 0.00."  
  
"Are you sure that number's right?" Yolei asked, rubbing her arms with her own  
hands to try and keep warm in the calm yet chilly conditions. "It feels like  
it's below that!"  
  
"If it's that cold, then where's the snow?" Cody wondered... before crossing the  
line into that particular freezing region, where there was snow on the ground.  
  
"Does that answer your question?" Yolei shot back.  
  
"Come on, you two!" Ken cut in, lightly scolding them. "We've got a job to do!"  
  
"That's right!" Armadillomon said in agreement.  
  
"Brrrrrrr... don't you know that Hawkmon and cold weather don't mix?" stated  
Yolei's Digimon partner Hawkmon, who was freezing just as much as she was.  
  
"I don't like it either, but I'm above complaining about it," added Wormmon,  
putting in his two bits.  
  
The six of them started to tread through the snow, despite not being properly  
equipped for such an excursion. Their best bet was to get this over with as  
quickly as possible, which wouldhopefully be before they froze to death...  
  
"I'm so cold!" Yolei screamed.  
  
...or before Yolei's whining got way too annoying to stand.  
  
======  
  
Meanwhile, about a mile away, one of the 'bad guys' and his Digimon were camped  
out and awaiting the arrival of the Digidestined to their location. But they  
had been waiting for nearly three hours, and the cold weather wasn't exactly  
making things comfortable for them.  
  
"Man, why did we have to be the ones stuck here?" the man in the blue shirt  
shouted, freezing even though he was sitting on the snow and in front of a small  
campfire.  
  
"Lucky you," his Digimon, Betamon, complained. "I know that snow and ice are  
forms of water, but I prefer the warm kind, thank you very much!"  
  
"They'd better get here soon, or we're leaving!"  
  
"But didn't the boss say..."  
  
"The boss? Screw what that fucking idiot said! He's not the one out here  
freezing his ass off, waiting for some washed-up has-beens to show up!"  
  
"You shouldn't say that about him. What if he's listening to us right now?"  
  
"Who cares? I'm only doing this because I want to be rich and rule the world!  
I just wish we hadn't seen that chick that screwed up our entire plan."  
  
"You're referring to the Digidestined of Light, I take it?"  
  
"Of course I'm referring to her! She messed up all of our plans! If I ever  
saw her again, I'd ring her scrawny little neck and put her out of my misery!"  
  
"Don't you mean her misery?" corrected Betamon.  
  
"No, mine!"  
  
"Oh." Betamon scratched his head, still confused.  
  
"I don't see what Kensuke ever saw in her." Blue shook his head. "Doesn't he  
know what women do to men?"  
  
Betamon sighed and rolled his eyes. He knew where this was leading.  
  
"Women use their bodies to persuade men to do their bidding!" Blue continued.  
"Women live just to make slaves of us men! Can you believe that, Betamon?"  
  
"I believe it!" Betamon shouted loudly, mockingly praising his teammate's beliefs,  
as he always did.  
  
"Men have to have jobs, buy the cars that women drive, give up their pay for  
bills that the women charge up, and a whole lot more!"  
  
"Amen!"  
  
"And they get to go out and party and dance, and flirt openly with other men,  
while we, the men, get reprimanded for even thinking about looking at another  
woman!"  
  
"Amen! Amen!" This time, Betamon glanced up to the sky.  
  
"Kensuke should know that dating women isn't worth it! He should date the sex  
that will care about him all the time!"  
  
"And what sex would that be?"  
  
"The men! Men do things for each other! Men can always talk about whatever  
they want without having to worry about what women think! And most importantly,  
girls don't wanna have fun! Men do!"  
  
"Amen and alleluia!" Betamon began to bow before Blue over and over.  
  
"One day I will convince Kensuke of the right way!" Blue said this with  
determined conviction, clenching his fist to accent his point.  
  
"There are no words to describe the way I feel now," Betamon said.  
  
"Oh, you're so good to me!" Blue picked Betamon up from the ground and started  
to rub his face against his Digimon's.  
  
"Not here!" objected Betamon. "What if people are watching?"  
  
"That's bitch talk, Betamon! Men don't care if people are watching!"  
  
"Okay, fine... we can do it here! Just promise you won't lick my horn, okay?"  
  
"I'm not promising anything, good buddy!"  
  
Betamon sighed. It was obvious who the man 'wasn't' in this relationship.  
  
======  
  
Back with our heroes, Ken has gotten Yolei to calm down and stop complaining  
about the weather... in his own special way.  
  
"Is that better?" Ken asked, looking at his wife lovingly.  
  
"Much better!" Yolei smiled, happy that she was wrapped in the arms of her own  
handsome husband, who was easily keeping her warm.  
  
"When Yolei's happy, I'm happy!" Hawkmon announced as he marched along, not  
feeling the cold as much as he had before.  
  
"How about sharing the love?" Armadillomon asked, now shaking in his boots, if  
he had them to wear, because of the cold temperatures.  
  
"That makes two of us," Wormmon added, as his small body was easily freezing up.  
  
The only person who didn't seem to care more or less about the cold was Cody,  
who was trotting along at the back of the group. It took Cody's own Digimon  
for the others to realize that.  
  
"You okay, Cody?"  
  
"I'm fine," Cody replied. "I'm just... thinking."  
  
"It's too cold to think!" Yolei cut in. "Just enjoy the beautiful weather!"  
  
"How can you say that after complaining about it just a few minutes ago?"  
  
"That was before Ken warmed me up!"  
  
"If you're still cold," Ken told his wife, "I can warm you up a bit more when  
we get back to the real world."  
  
"Warm me up even more?" Yolei smiled slyly. "I love the sound of that! I'll  
especially love the sounds that we'll share later on."  
  
Cody sweatdropped. "Geese Yolei... how often do you guys do it? Isn't three  
children enough?"  
  
"That's none of your business!" yelled Yolei. "Besides, Ken absolutely loves  
all of the 'special' attention I give him. Isn't that right, Kenny-poo?"  
  
Ken blushed. "Not in front of everyone Yolei-kins! Especially in front of  
Cody!"  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because I can use it against the both of you should I happen to be the attorney  
for the opposite side in a case," Cody smirked.  
  
"You wouldn't dare!" Yolei looked as if she was going to tear Cody limb from limb.  
Luckily, Ken had enough sense to keep Yolei leashed, so to speak.  
  
"Would you really do that?" Hawkmon asked as he looked at Cody.  
  
But it would be Armadillomon, Cody's partner, that would answer that question.  
  
"Cody would. He's a lawyer. Trust me, he's done it before."  
  
"Armadillomon!"  
  
"I'm just tellin' 'em the truth!"  
  
"This is why things were a whole lot better when we didn't have to hear about  
the problems humans have," Wormmon sighed.  
  
"You sure you and Mimi aren't sisters?" Cody asked Yolei. "You two seem to have  
similar tempers... short ones!"  
  
Yolei growled angrily. "You're just lucky you don't have your suitcase with  
you! I could've used it to knock your brains out!"  
  
"Okay Yolei, calm down!" Ken restrained his wife, working as the peacemaker in  
this situation. "Stop it this INSTANT!"  
  
Yolei grabbed a hold of herself, as she knew what Ken was like when he was  
angry. It was nothing compared to the anger she was feeling towards Cody right  
now. It was a whole lot worse than that. She didn't want him to be angry.  
  
Cody knew that as well... so he decided to shut his mouth and not say another  
word on the matter. The three Digimon also decided to be quiet, so the rest of  
the walk through the snowy grounds was rather uneventful.  
  
======  
  
Things would change when they found themselves at the campsite of Blue and  
Betamon. Unfortunately for them, the small campfire looked to be the only thing  
in the area moving.  
  
"There must be someone around here," Ken said, noting the fire.  
  
"Yeah," nodded Yolei. "Maybe he knows where all the Frigimon that are usually  
here have gone."  
  
Suddenly, the group noticed that there was something moving around in the tent.  
The sound of someone growling could be heard.  
  
"You think it's a wild Digimon?" wondered Cody.  
  
"Either that, or this is the guy that we're looking for!" Yolei deduced.  
  
"Leave this to us," Armadillomon said. "In case it is a wild Digimon; let us  
Digimon handle it!"  
  
After getting approving nods from Ken, Yolei, and Cody, the three Digimon  
huddled up to decide on a fair way to pick who should go in.  
  
"We need a game that gives everyone the same chance of being the unlucky one,"  
Hawkmon said, establishing a ground rule for all of them to abide by.  
  
"Sounds good to me," agreed Wormmon.  
  
"How about rock, paper, scissors?" suggested Armadillomon.  
  
"Great idea!" the other two Digimon said in unison.  
  
Balling up their paws into fists, the three Digimon played rock, paper, scissors.  
But as with many other attempts to determine the lucky (or unlucky) person this  
way, they would always seem to either draw the same form or cancel each other out  
by drawing one of each.  
  
As the activity continued in the tent and the three humans waited patiently, one  
of the Digimon finally ended up as the odd 'mon out.  
  
"You're it!" Armadillomon told Hawkmon.  
  
"Okay," Hawkmon sighed, reluctantly agreeing as he walked towards the tent.  
"But I still don't get how paper beats rock!"  
  
Hawkmon tiptoed his way over to the tent, and slowly pulled back the flap to  
look inside.  
  
"Excuse me for interrupt... oh my!"  
  
Hawkmon dropped the flap and ran back to the others. That's because Betamon  
came running out behind him, trying to chase him away... and maybe stick his  
horn in Hawkmon's tailfeathers.  
  
"Come back here, you peeping tom!" Betamon shouted angrily.  
  
"I'm sorry!" apologized Hawkmon, although it was too late for it.  
  
"What's wrong?" Yolei asked.  
  
Yolei would get her answer as a man with a blue shirt and khaki pants on came  
out of the tent. Needless to say, his clothes looked like they had been put on  
in a rush... and putting two and two together, Yolei quickly figured out what  
was going on.  
  
"Betamon, back!" commanded Blue.  
  
Betamon obeyed his human partner and ran back, allowing Hawkmon to seek shelter  
behind Yolei's legs.  
  
"That's just disgusting!" Yolei exclaimed. "I've never seen this happen in my  
entire life, and I was hoping it would stay that way!"  
  
"Be quiet, you!" barked Blue, not happy about the intrusion. "What do you  
want?"  
  
"What happened to all of the Frigimon?" Cody asked.  
  
Blue smiled. "So... you're the group of heroes that I'm waiting for. I  
remember you all from the incident at the Koromon and Tsunomon villages."  
  
Ken was stunned to hear this. "You were there?"  
  
"We all were!" Blue exclaimed, lifting his arms up to the sky.  
  
"We?" Yolei asked. "As in more than one?"  
  
"Oh, you'll meet all of us soon enough. For now, I'm just going to test your  
powers to see what we're up against. Ready for battle, Betamon?"  
  
Betamon got into a ready stance, waiting for the command to attack. Hawkmon,  
Armadillomon, and Wormmmon got into position as well, in order to protect their  
Digidestined partners.  
  
"Let's go for it!" Ken, Yolei, and Cody all shouted at the same time, raising  
their respective D-3s into the air.  
  
"Show 'em who's boss!" Blue exclaimed as he lifted his own D-3 into the air.  
  
Betamon went charging straight towards the three opposing Digimon. He  
immediately went after Hawkmon, who had aggravated him in the first place.  
  
"Electric Shock!"  
  
The charge of electric energy flew towards Hawkmon with tremendous speed. It  
was so fast that Hawkmon was unable to dodge it. The attack succeeded in  
nearly frying Hawkmon, and it was enough to ground him for the moment.  
  
"You can't do that to our friend!" Armadillomon shouted.  
  
"Take this... Sticky Net!" Wormmon exclaimed, shooting out a web to ensnare  
Betamon.  
  
Betamon leapt out of the way though, easily avoiding the trap. But he didn't  
account on Armadillomon waiting for him.  
  
"Diamond Slamming Attack!"  
  
Armadillomon charged right into Betamon's back side, sending the Digimon flying  
several feet away... and right into the waiting wings of Hawkmon, who had  
recovered from the initial attack.  
  
"Get 'em, Hawkmon!" Yolei shouted, drawing a strange look from Blue.  
  
"Feather Strike!" Hawkmon announced the name of his attack as he fired the  
feather atop his head right at Betamon. The attack hit its intended target,  
making a big scratch on Betamon's head.  
  
"Again, Hawkmon!"  
  
"Not so fast!" Blue cut in. "Betamon, fry that bird!"  
  
"Electric Shock!"  
  
Betamon unleashed another electric attack. At close range, this attack was much  
more powerful, and this one nearly knocked Hawkmon out for good. Hawkmon, barely  
able to stand up, watched as Betamon started to approach him.  
  
"Hawkmon!" Yolei yelled as she ran over to protect her Digimon, glancing at the  
menacing Betamon at the same time. "Stay away!"  
  
"So that Digimon's yours? Very well then... Betamon, take care of them both!"  
  
Ken, quickly realizing the danger that Yolei had unwittingly put herself into,  
ran over to protect his wife from getting hurt.  
  
"Electric Shock!"  
  
The third shot of electric energy was directed right at Yolei, who realized way  
too late what was going on. But at the last possible moment, Ken dived in and  
pushed Yolei out of danger, taking the full brunt of the attack in the process.  
  
"Ken!" Yolei gasped as her husband fell to the snowy ground.  
  
"What?" Blue was enraged by Ken's heroics. "How dare you save that woman!"  
  
As Yolei checked Ken for injuries, he slowly got to his feet and glared at the  
man that opposed them.  
  
"This woman is my wife! And I won't let you hurt her!"  
  
Blue shook his fist with rage. "You scum! You actually got married to a woman?  
How wrong is that?"  
  
"What are you talking about?" Ken asked.  
  
"Don't you know what women do to men? They make men their undying slaves for  
life! It's not worth getting into a relationship with them!"  
  
"How dare you say that?" Yolei shouted, now angry as well. "Ken and I have a  
great, equal relationship that we wouldn't change for the world!"  
  
"Women are the devils of the Earth!" Blue exclaimed. "They must be eliminated!"  
  
"Oh yeah? I'll show you what a woman can really do!"  
  
Yolei looked to Hawkmon for help, as the bird Digimon got to his feet and  
prepared for another round.  
  
"Don't wanna give up?" Betamon asked, charging up for another attack. "Maybe  
you will after this Electric Shock!"  
  
Betamon fired his Electric Shock attack. This time around, though, Hawkmon  
flew out of the way and completely dodged it. Hawkmon then dived in for an  
aerial attack.  
  
"Take this, you misguided Digimon!"  
  
Hawkmon swooped in and gave Betamon a few good pecks of the beak on his head.  
He then grabbed Betamon by the horn and then swung him around and around,  
finally releasing him and sending him back to his human partner.  
  
"Betamon... Betamon?" Blue looked to see if his Digimon was still responsive,  
but that throw had knocked the little guy out.  
  
Blue growled angrily as he used his D-3 to open a portal back to the real world.  
  
"I will get my revenge on all of you!" Blue then pointed a finger at Yolei.  
"Especially you and your Hawkmon, you bitch!"  
  
With that, Blue carried Betamon into the portal. Yolei ran after him, hoping  
to ring his scrawny neck for calling her a bitch... but the portal closed before  
she could get there.  
  
"Come back here and fight!" Yolei screamed. "Then I can show you what this bitch  
can do to your face!"  
  
"Oh boy, hit the deck!" Hawkmon shouted, lying down in the snow and putting his  
wings over his head. "Yolei's about to explode!"  
  
"No argument here," Ken agreed as he, Cody, Armadillomon, and Wormmon all hunkered  
down.  
  
"And this is the woman you married?" Cody asked Ken.  
  
Ken sighed happily. "It's the total package, Cody. The total package."  
  
======  
  
In the real world, Dora had just pulled her '25 Toyota Celica into a parking lot  
adjacent to one of the city's busiest Internet cafes. Before stepping out though,  
she reached into the glove compartment and pulled out her D-3, which was orange.  
  
"There's only one other place he could be..." Dora growled angrily.  
  
Heading into the cafe, she found an empty computer terminal and got herself to  
the Digiport map website. Seconds later, she jumped into the screen and made her  
way to her destination... the Digital World Research Lab in Osaka.  
  
******  
  
Author's Notes:  
First off, to answer the hunches of whom Penelope is based off of, as I mentioned  
in Episode 7... it is Ruri Hoshino from 'Martian Successor Nadesico.' Note that  
Penelope, though, is a little older and is actually human, but she's still smart  
enough to realize that the people around her do idiotic things. For more proof  
of that... you'll see in Episode 11.  
  
If I remember my chemistry right, and I hope I do because I never liked it,  
the elements sodium, calcium, and neon cannot be combined to form a compound.  
Neon is one of those perfect gases that have been scientifically proven not able  
to form compounds with any other elements, including each other (the perfect  
gases themselves). Add to that that sodium and calcium are on the same side of  
the periodical table, which makes it virtually impossible to make a compound  
out of those two elements.  
  
But it is the future, and science has found ways around difficulties like that.  
I'd go more into detail, but it's not a major part of the fic at all. You don't  
have to worry about that... because those of you who have yet to take chemistry  
probably wouldn't understand it anyway. In fact, I probably wouldn't either.  
  
Catch the joke about Ken's group being in Sector 0.0? Well, and this is a  
chemistry factoid I know for sure, 0 degrees is considered the freezing point  
in the Celsius scale. That equates to 32 degrees Farenheit, the scale that is  
used in our neck of the woods. And since snow melts if the temperature is  
higher than that, then it must be below... which is why Yolei asks if it is.  
  
Yeah... Blue is supposed to be like that. I didn't make a big deal of it  
earlier because I was more concerned about setting up the fic in general. But  
now that he has his own episode and his own time alone... you can see what he's  
like for real.  
  
I'm not sure if Armadillomon ever said the name of his attack in the show. He  
probably did, but I don't remember. It's listed at 'The Digimon Encyclopedia'  
website as being Diamond Slamming Attack.  
  
***** Next Episode - The Key to Kari's Heart *****  
Up in the northern quadrant of the Digital World, Kari finds herself suffering from aches of  
the heart. Both Davis and TK still harbor feelings for her, even though all three of them are  
already married to other people! Things are complicated even more when their target is another  
person that Kari had dated in the past! It's the love septagon that needs to lose a few sides! 


	10. The Key to Kari's Heart

"The Circle of the Digidestined," written by Freedom Fighter  
  
Disclaimer: None of the characters, human or Digimon, belong to me, the writer.  
  
Author's Warning: The following fanfic features gruesome character death, both  
of the human and Digimon kind, violence of varying levels, some profane language,  
and some suggestive situations. Please do not read this fanfic if you're underage  
or feel that you cannot handle any of said features.  
  
******  
  
A young man in his early 20s was taking timeout from his regular studies to change  
into a tuxedo for a formal that his friends were throwing. The occasion was very  
special as he glanced at a picture taped to the mirror.  
  
The picture was of Highton View Terrace, where he and the other Digidestined  
encountered Digimon for the first time in their lives exactly 15 years ago today.  
A page calendar reads August 1st, 2014. They weren't celebrating that night at  
the apartment that changed their lives... they were actually remembering the  
day that they first went to the Digital World.  
  
At the time, Takeru Takashi was only seven years of age, close to going on eight.  
Now, at 22 and currently in his final semester of freelance reporter school, he  
was about to reunite with his friends for the last time before he headed off to  
start his life for real as a reporter.  
  
But there was one person he wanted to bring along with her. That girl was  
actually his childhood sweetheart, whom is majoring in primary education at  
Tokyo University. TK didn't get to see his girl much. In fact, the only other  
Digidestined that went to Tokyo U. were Izzy and Joe, but both had already  
graduated.  
  
This would be the first time he saw her in months. After so long as friends, TK  
had an item that would show that he was prepared to take the next step. TK  
pocketed a small box and started to head for the door.  
  
As he departs, the camera focuses in on a picture that he had taken with her  
and both of their Digimon in New York 12 years ago.  
  
======  
  
Time has passed since that day, and the beautiful teenage girl had grown into  
a gorgeous, middle-aged woman who seemed content with her life as an elementary  
school teacher in the city. But there was only one title that TK would ever  
think to call her.  
  
That title? The Digidestined of Light.  
  
Currently, the Digidestined of Light, usually referred to by her maiden name  
Kari Kamiya, was walking in the forest with TK. This wasn't any ordinary  
stroll for them, though. They were on a mission, seeking out a disturbance  
that had been reported in the area. But so far, they had come up with nothing.  
  
"Maybe Izzy got this one wrong," Kari told TK. "We've walked for quite awhile  
now without seeing anything."  
  
TK hadn't heard a single word Kari had said, though. He was more interested in  
admiring Kari's smiling face... a face he hadn't seen in months.  
  
"It's just like that day..." TK thought.  
  
The duo continued their trek through the woods, unaware that a red-shirted man  
is watching them from an abandoned treehouse not too far away from their current  
position.  
  
"It's her!" Red exclaimed excitedly as he looked through his pair of binoculars.  
"It's really her!"  
  
Red's Digimon, Gizamon, shook his head. "No offense, but how long has it been  
since you've seen her?"  
  
"13 years," remembered Red. "And it's been the longest 13 years ever, especially  
after what happened that day..."  
  
======  
  
Red, 13 years younger and now in his mid-20s, gets off of a plane at Narita  
International, Tokyo's main airport. He heads to the luggage conveyor belt and  
finds his bag... a giant leather duffel bag.  
  
Red pulls his bag off the conveyor and to the side before opening the bag to  
search for something very valuable that he had stored in there. After a minute  
or so of pushing clothes aside, he found it wedged underneath his favorite  
handkerchief.  
  
The object of value? A small ring box, which he quickly placed in his pocket.  
Once that was done, Red reached back into the bag and pulled out an invitation.  
It had been sent by Izzy to all of the Digidestined, as well as close friends  
that were designated by each of the team members themselves. And Red was one  
of Kari's closest friends.  
  
The two had met when Kari spent a semester overseas, studying at the same  
college in Venice where Red went to school. They quickly became best of friends  
and even dated once, but nothing more materialized from that relationship.  
  
At the time, Red thought they could go farther. He was ready to take the next  
step, and he wanted to take it at that formal.  
  
======  
  
"I was on Cloud Nine that day, ready to surprise Kari," Red told Gizamon. "But  
she was the one who surprised me."  
  
Gizamon nodded. "So, why do you still pine for this Kari woman?"  
  
"She's got beauty and brains, and is great athletically too! She's perfect in  
every way!"  
  
"I doubt that's possible, but if you say so."  
  
Red resumed viewing Kari through his binoculars, but he would occasionally  
glance at TK... and seeth angrily every time.  
  
"I'll show Kari the man she should have married!" Red announced as he dropped  
his binoculars and exited the treehouse via the secret slide.  
  
Gizamon followed afterwards, taking one last glance in the direction of where  
TK and Kari were before hopping down the slide.  
  
***** Episode Ten - The Key to Kari's Heart (06.19.03) *****  
  
Meanwhile, half a mile away, Davis was observing Patamon, Gatomon, and Veemon.  
The trio of Digimon were helping some Floramon who had been trapped underneath  
a bunch of fallen trees. The trees had fallen in such a way that a small  
safety pocket was formed, just large enough to save the Floramon from deletion.  
  
"On the count of three!" Patamon told Gatomon and Veemon, all three positioned  
in order to push another one of the tree trunks out of the way. "One! Two!  
Three!"  
  
With all their might, the three Digimon pushed their legs forward. Slowly but  
surely the trunk began to budge. With one last burst of power, the group jarred  
the fallen tree trunk out of the pile and out of harm's way. Finally, there was  
enough room to get the Floramon out.  
  
"Allow me!" Veemon exclaimed, the first to reach in and grab a Floramon's arms.  
"Hang on tight!"  
  
Veemon started pulling as hard as he could, trying to get the Floramon out. At  
first, it didn't seem that Veemon was making any process. That changed when the  
Digimon began to work together. Gatomon wrapped her paws around Veemon's waist,  
and Patamon put his around Gatomon's. On the other hand, the three Floramon  
inside used their shoulders to try and force their fellow Floramon through the  
hole.  
  
"Heave! Ho! Heave! Ho!" the Digimon yelled.  
  
After several tugs, they succeeded in freeing the first Floramon.  
  
"Yeah, I'm free!" the giddy Floramon shouted happily.  
  
"Now get us out of here!" exclaimed the other three Floramon.  
  
Davis continued to look on as Veemon, Gatomon, and Patamon got ready to pull out  
another one of the Floramon. He sighed dreamily, obviously thinking about  
something... or someone else.  
  
"I run the best instant noodle company in the world, live in a large house, and  
have a great family... so why does it feel like my life's not right?"  
  
Davis reached into his back pocket and pulled out a picture from many years ago.  
He was in it, dressed in a tuxedo, and his left arm was linked with Kari's right.  
Kari was dolled up in a gorgeous, stunning peach-colored gown.  
  
======  
  
Flashback 13 years, right after the picture was taken. Kari unliked herself  
from Davis as she went over to the photographer, who in this case, was Mimi,  
dressed in a sparkling sky blue dress that made her look like Cinderella.  
  
"Tee hee... this oughta make him so jealous," giggled Mimi as she took out the  
photograph and waited to develop.  
  
"This is just for fun," Kari told Mimi. "I didn't do it to make him jealous!"  
  
As the two young women waited patiently for the photo, they didn't seem to notice  
that Davis was still standing in the same pose he had taken the picture in.  
  
But Kari's older brother, Tai, wearing a gray shirt and black slacks, did notice.  
  
"What'cha doing standin' around like a statue?" the elder goggle boy asked the  
younger one as he gave him a hard pat on the back, knocking Davis out of his pose.  
  
"Sorry," Davis apologized. "I guess I still see Kari as my dream girl."  
  
"You waited too long. She's already spoken for."  
  
Davis lowered his head, as a waterfall of tears fell from his eyes. "Why did I  
have to go on that five-month trip around the world to promote my company?"  
  
"Davis... are you okay?"  
  
Davis stopped crying and quickly regained his composure when he looked up and  
saw that the person asking him that question was Kari.  
  
"Oh, it's nothing!" recovered Davis. "Just had something in my eye, that's all."  
  
Kari dismissed it as just that and handed the now-finished photo to Davis.  
  
"Here you go. You finally have one good pic of us together. Well, at least one  
that's serious."  
  
Davis glanced at the photo, it of course being the same one we saw a minute ago.  
  
"Thanks Kari!" Davis yelled, moving as if he was going to wrap his arms around  
Kari. Unfortunately, his arms ended up around Tai, who wasn't impressed in the  
least.  
  
"I don't know what your sister keeps telling you, but I don't swing that way!"  
  
"Oops!" Davis quickly panicked as he let go and quickly ran off to safety... and  
to find Kari and talk to her.  
  
======  
  
"It was that day that I found out Kari was engaged," remembered Davis, as a  
single tear streaked down from his left eye and down his left cheek.  
  
"Davis!" Veemon yelled in-between grunts as he and the other Digimon struggled  
to get the second Floramon out, since she was a bit plumper than normal.  
  
"I'm coming!" Davis exclaimed as he ran over to help the Digimon.  
  
======  
  
TK and Kari had made their way to a downward sloping hill hidden in the trees.  
It was very steep, and neither looked as if they were willing to go down that  
way.  
  
"We'd better find another way down," Kari suggested. "We might hurt ourselves  
if we go down the hill here."  
  
"I think I saw a path heading down there a minute ago," TK said. "Let's  
backtrack."  
  
The two of them proceed forward, with TK leading the way. He reached back and  
grabbed one of Kari's hands with his, intending to keep her close. Kari didn't  
seem to mind as they quickly found the path TK had mentioned.  
  
"Follow me!" TK exclaimed as he continued to lead.  
  
The path sloped downward, and although it was not as steep as the hill they had  
seen earlier, it was steep enough that they had to take care to watch their  
footing. Numerous tree roots that were sticking out of the ground didn't  
help either.  
  
"Watch your step, Kari."  
  
"I can see in front of me, TK!" Kari snapped. "I'll be fine."  
  
"Sorry," TK apologized.  
  
They continued forward, unaware that someone was following them, being kept  
hidden by running through the bushes. But a quick rustle of some branches  
grabbed their attention.  
  
"What was that?" Kari asked, turning her head to glance around.  
  
That turned out to be a mistake, as the lapse of concentration made her trip over  
a root that she hadn't seen. TK, seeing Kari about to fall, reacts instantly,  
sticking his arms out to catch her.  
  
"I gotcha!" TK exclaimed.  
  
Kari safely fell into a pair of waiting arms. Surprisingly, the arms didn't  
belong to TK, as he was standing just to Kari's left.  
  
Kari glanced upwards, ready to thank TK... but was shocked to find herself in  
the arms of another guy. A guy that she had known in the past.  
  
"Honda?" Kari blurted out, remembering his name.  
  
"Kari," Honda smiled as he helped Kari stand upright.  
  
"I haven't seen you in years!" Kari exclaimed as she beamed a smile that matched  
Honda's in brightness. She then turned to look at TK. "TK, you remember Honda,  
right?"  
  
"I think so..." TK replied, scratching his head.  
  
"He's my friend from Venice? You know, the one that I was with when I was in  
Italy for the student exchange program?"  
  
"Oh, him?"  
  
"Nice to see you again," greeted Honda, sticking his hand out in order to shake  
hands with TK.  
  
"Likewise," returned TK as the two shook hands.  
  
"What do you say we go some place where's the room to sit down?" Kari cut in as  
she started walking again.  
  
TK and Honda followed Kari down the hill without objection.  
  
======  
  
TK walked through the crowd of partygoers at the formal, as he searched high and  
low for Kari. But so far, he was having no luck.  
  
"She's gotta be around here somewhere," TK commented as he patted the right side  
of his pants, right by the side pocket.  
  
Suddenly, somebody tapped TK on the shoulder. He turned around and found Yolei,  
dressed in a strapless purple form-fitting dress and high heels.  
  
"Hello... uh, Yolei," TK tugged at his shirt collar, as he was getting warm for  
some odd reason. "Nice dress."  
  
"Wanna dance?"  
  
"No offense, but wouldn't Ken be upset if he saw you dancing with someone?"  
  
"One little dance won't hurt," Yolei smirked slyly. "Besides, I tuckered him out  
after all the dancing we did the past hour!"  
  
"Well... okay..."  
  
Yolei pulled TK to the dance floor as fast as humanly possible.  
  
======  
  
Honda was in the restroom, breathing heavily as he stared at himself in the  
mirror. He was nervous to the point where he was going to hyperventilate.  
  
"Calm down," he told himself in-between breaths. "You can do this."  
  
Honda then began to feel something coming up his throat. He quickly rushed over  
to the toilet and started spitting in it. He continued hanging over it, pretty  
sure that in a minute, he'd be doing more than just plain old spitting.  
  
======  
  
Meanwhile, Davis was getting his groove on... over by the tables full of food.  
He was holding a plate full of rice, beef stroganoff, and, of course, pasta  
noodles. And it didn't look like he was done yet, as he made his way over to  
the snack and beverage table, which Joe, in a business suit minus the blazer,  
was tending to.  
  
"Davis, maybe you should come back after you've eaten all that," Joe suggested,  
pointing to Davis's full plate.  
  
"I've got to get everything while there's still some to get!" Davis exclaimed  
as he stopped in front of a tray of brownies.  
  
Joe sighed. "Suit yourself... how many?"  
  
"Two's good!"  
  
Using a pair of tweezers, Joe transferred two brownies to Davis's plate, squeezing  
them in on the side.  
  
"Thanks!" Davis waved back as he walked away.  
  
"Look out!"  
  
Before Davis knew it, he had bumped into someone. Just by normal reaction, he  
accidentally launched the plate right into that person's clothing.  
  
"You ruined my dress!" yelled the bumpee, a beautiful blue-haired girl in a  
white knee-length dress... who in reality was actually Dora, whom Davis would  
eventually end up marrying.  
  
"Sorry about that," Davis apologized as he saw Dora's dress now decorated with  
beef sauce, alredo sauce, rice grains, and brownie particles.  
  
"This is a rental!" Dora screamed, attracting the attention of everyone in the  
immediate vicinity. "Do you know how much this is going to cost me?"  
  
Dora grabbed the goggles, which Davis had forgotten not to wear to the formal,  
and started whacking him on the head with them.  
  
"Ow! Okay, I get the idea!"  
  
"Oh, you'll get the idea... once I pound it into that thick skull of yours!"  
  
Davis pushed through the crowd and tried to get out of the room. Dora followed  
closely, still wanting to get a few more licks in to subside her rage.  
  
======  
  
Back in present time, we see that all four Floramon have been freed, as they are  
now dancing around happily. Patamon, Gatomon, and Veemon congratulate each other  
on a job well done as they head over to Davis.  
  
"We're done, Davish!" Veemon shouted.  
  
"Mission accomplished!" Gatomon announced.  
  
"Can we go find TK and Kari now?" Patomon asked, worried about the duo.  
  
"That's right... there's something we need to check out!" Davis said excitedly,  
immediately running off down a nearby path.  
  
"Hey... wait for us!" cried the three Digimon.  
  
======  
  
TK, Kari, and Honda had found a small clearing where there were logs to sit on.  
It was there that they spent some time catching up. Okay, well, Kari and Honda  
were catching up. TK was just sitting off to the side, not saying anything at  
all.  
  
"So, what have you been up to?" asked a curious Kari.  
  
"I currently work for a construction company," Honda replied. "We're trying to  
build larger floodgates so that Venice doesn't end up sinking into the sea in a  
few years. And you, Kari?"  
  
"I'm a grade school teacher in Tokyo."  
  
"That must be rough... having to deal with rowdy kids."  
  
"It's not so bad once you show them how education can be fun!"  
  
"That always seemed to be your style, Kari... always making things fun! You  
want everyone around you to be happy and have a good time!"  
  
"I live under the philosophy that if you're happy, you can make everyone around  
you happy as well!"  
  
"That's for sure... you've made me happy!"  
  
Kari and Honda were enjoying each other's company... but TK didn't look to be  
enjoying Honda's at all.  
  
"What is he doing here?" TK thought. "Wasn't he made aware of all of the Digimon  
attacks in the Western Quadrant two hours ago? Or the one that supposedly is  
here?"  
  
Without warning, a orange and yellow Digimon with a shark's fin for a horn  
hopped into the area. Honda smiled as he got up from his seat and ran over to  
pet the Digimon, Gizamon.  
  
"Hello there, pal!" Honda said as he petted his Digimon.  
  
"Do you know this Digimon?" TK asked, making his presence known again to Honda.  
  
"TK and Kari, this is my Gizamon!"  
  
"Hi!" shouted Gizamon. "Pleased to meet you!"  
  
"Isn't he cute?" Kari remarked as she knelt down to pet Gizamon as well.  
  
"Yeah..." TK said, unimpressed. "Cute."  
  
TK got up and walked away, heading down the path where Gizamon had come from.  
  
"What's wrong with him?" questioned Honda.  
  
"I don't know," Kari replied, shaking her head. "He's acting rather strange."  
  
======  
  
TK mumbled incoherently as he made his way through some shrubbery that was  
covering the path.  
  
"I still think's there something wrong with Honda," he said out loud. "Something  
doesn't fit... but what?"  
  
After he pushed a low tree branch out of the way, TK came into another clearing.  
This one was on a hill overlooking a valley. And in the valley... were the  
remnants of a Digimon village, practically burned and demolished. TK could tell  
instantly... he saw the few still standing huts covered with flames.  
  
"This is awful! Who could do such a thing, and how could we have not seen it?"  
  
"The answer is that you were not meant to see it!" stated a voice from behind.  
  
TK turned around and found himself face-to-face with Honda and his Gizamon.  
  
"I put a special forcefield at the center of the village," explained Honda,  
"which extends a full mile in all directions! The only way to get in or out is  
to have a special device that allows such digital travel."  
  
"And this forcefield keeps anyone on the outside from seeing or smelling the  
fires in the village! That explains why Izzy's calculations were off!"  
  
"Heh... remind me to meet this Izzy person. Oh wait, that's right... I did at  
that social all those years ago, right?"  
  
"Cut the small talk! Why have you destroyed this village?"  
  
"To attract flies such as yourself... Digidestined!"  
  
******  
  
Author's Notes:  
And now, we get into the story of who Kari fell in love with and how TK and  
Davis missed out. Let's not forget Honda, who also had affections for her.  
  
Yes, it is intentional that Red is referred to as Honda instead of Red. That's  
because of the necessity to know his real name for the backstory.  
  
***** Next Episode - Convergence in Osaka *****  
TK discovers Red's, or rather Honda's, connection to all of the recent attacks. But when Kari  
finds out about all of this, she may find it all too much to swallow. Meanwhile, an enraged  
Dora arrives at the research lab, searching for her missing husband. And Matt and Gabumon try  
to find a way back to Earth... with the help of a certain child genius facsimile. 


	11. Convergence in Osaka

"The Circle of the Digidestined," written by Freedom Fighter  
  
Disclaimer: None of the characters, human or Digimon, belong to me, the writer.  
  
Author's Warning: The following fanfic features gruesome character death, both  
of the human and Digimon kind, violence of varying levels, some profane language,  
and some suggestive situations. Please do not read this fanfic if you're underage  
or feel that you cannot handle any of said features.  
  
This particular episode features use of some profanity.  
  
******  
  
"TK! No!"  
  
Matt jolted up, waking from a slumber he didn't even remember initiating. Even  
more surprising was the fact that he was lying on top of the sheets of his bed.  
  
"How did I get here?" Matt asked aloud, rubbing his head and finding a small  
bump on it. "And how did that get there?"  
  
Checking his surroundings, Matt confirmed that he was in his sleeping quarters.  
It wasn't much... all he had was a bed, a lamp, a small closet for clothes and  
shoes, and a roundtable. There were two chairs pushed under the table, while  
on it were a researcher's manual and a picture of his family. Matt recalled  
that the picture of him, his wife Sora, and their two kids was taken last  
Christmas, three weeks before he had left them to come to the space station.  
  
"I sure miss Sora and the kids a lot," murmured Matt as he rolled off his bed  
and got on his feet. Suddenly, he heard someone knock on his door.  
  
"Matt, are you awake?" asked the voice of a young female. "May I come in?"  
  
"Sure! Come in, Penelope!"  
  
The door slid open upwards, as a concerned Penelope made her way in. Once she  
was past the door, it slid back down to the ground.  
  
"Penelope, what's going on?"  
  
"Well, if you must know... you were blinded by the light resulting from the  
mixture of the calcium-neon-sodium compound. You were trying to find your way  
out of the laboratory when you actually stumbled into the restroom, bumped your  
knee against the toilet bowl, slipped on the just-waxed-this-morning floor,  
and the result was knocking yourself out when your head made contact with the  
ground."  
  
"Really? All that happened?"  
  
"Yep. By the time I found you, you were already unconscious. So, I carried  
you back here to your room."  
  
"How could you carry me?"  
  
Penelope pointed to a pair of hover boots, which were set up next to Matt's bed.  
  
"I slipped those on your feet, so all I had to do is tug you along."  
  
Matt scratched his head, careful to avoid the bump on it.  
  
"You sure all of that happened? That sounds so uncharacteristic of me."  
  
"Okay... what if I said that you were walking down the hall when you were attacked  
by a pink elephant that continually pounded your head into the ground? I then  
dragged your barely alive lifeform to your room, where I resuscitated you back  
to life but it took you an extra minute to come to, in which I stepped out to  
get you a drink."  
  
Matt sweatdropped. "I liked the first explanation better."  
  
The door raised open again, as this time Gabumon was the visitor. But there was  
no need for explanations when he held up Matt's flashing D-3.  
  
"The D-3's flashing?" Matt asked.  
  
Gabumon, nearly out of breath, could barely ellicit a response. "I've been  
looking everywhere... for you."  
  
Matt took the D-3 from Gabumon and started pushing a few buttons on it.  
  
"I knew something was wrong when I came to! TK must be in trouble!"  
  
***** Episode Eleven - Convergence in Osaka (06.19.03) *****  
  
TK and Honda were standing on a hill over a Digimon village that was in the final  
stages of burning to the ground. Next to Honda was Gizamon, who was ready to  
attack once given the command.  
  
"I bet you're the one responsible for that village back there... and the one  
here too!" TK yelled.  
  
"You don't approve?" Honda smiled evilly.  
  
"You killed innocent Digimon!"  
  
"I didn't want to, but they kept going on about trying to kill us. So I had  
Gizamon here shut them up... permanently."  
  
"If you heard how annoying they sounded," Gizamon said, "you'd want to kill them  
too!"  
  
"You need to stop this senseless carnage now! No one else has to die!"  
  
"Sorry, can't do! There's still one person that needs to have his life cut  
painfully short."  
  
TK reached into his pocket and pulled out his lime green D-3. He raised it to  
the sky and called for his Digimon partner.  
  
"Patamon... it's time to digivolve!"  
  
The power of the D-3 was enough to break through and shatter the forcefield.  
Not only is the light beam being emitted from the D-3 now visible, but so is  
the smoke that billowed from the village.  
  
======  
  
"Honda? TK? Where did you guys go?"  
  
About a quarter of a mile away, Kari called out for her two former 'flames.' So  
far, she was having no luck.  
  
"First I lose TK, and now Honda! And add to that, Davis is off with the Digimon  
and I don't know where they are! I can't believe I've been left alone again!"  
  
Kari took a seat on the grass. She had suddenly become depressed as she reached  
down to pick a few grass blades from the ground.  
  
"Why am I the one who always has the problems that no one can solve?" she cried.  
  
She continued to sit there and wallow in her own sorrows, as she zoned out  
everything around her... including the smoke that had appeared just over the  
horizon behind her.  
  
======  
  
Davis and the Digimon are making their way towards the same cloud of smoke rising  
from the devastated village. They all could sense the danger that awaited them.  
  
"This feels bad," Gatomon noted, "Really bad."  
  
"We have to hurry!" exclaimed Patamon.  
  
"Are we almost there, Davish?" asked Veemon.  
  
"Almost!" Davis replied. "I can really smell the smoke now!"  
  
But Davis wasn't worried the most about the fire or the Digimon village. He  
was worried about the one person who might be trapped there.  
  
"I'm coming Kari!"  
  
======  
  
"Spiral Saw!"  
  
Two data-filled spinning saws were fired by Gizamon and right at TK. He dodges  
one, but is unable to avoid the other, which nicks him in the left shoulder blade.  
  
"Aaaaaahhhhhh!" TK yelled, grabbing the place where he was cut with his hands.  
In doing so, he unintentionally released his grip on his D-3.  
  
"That's mine," Gizamon sneered as he leaped in and snatched the D-3 off the  
ground before TK could reclaim it.  
  
"Give that back!"  
  
Gizamon runs back over to Honda, who kneels down and sticks out his left palm  
to receive the D-3.  
  
"So this a D-3 of a Digidestined..." Honda stated as he looked it over.  
  
"I said give that back!"  
  
TK started to charge at Honda, but he quickly halted his assault when the pain  
in his shoulder became unbearable. The hand he had covering up where he was cut  
was already drenched in blood, right between the fingers.  
  
"I wouldn't take another step. I assure you that the next time Gizamon fires  
his Spiral Saw at you, he will go for the kill!"  
  
Gizamon got into position, ready to end TK's life quickly upon command.  
  
"Why?" TK shouted. "Why are you doing this?"  
  
"Pardon me?" Honda mocked, raising an eyebrow in fake interest. "What did you  
say?"  
  
"Why are you doing this, you fucking bastard!"  
  
TK ignored all pain and reason as he made another attempt at a charge.  
  
"Finish him, Gizamon!" Honda yelled.  
  
"Right! Spiral Saw!"  
  
Things seem to go in slow motion as Gizamon prepared to fire another round of  
Spiral Saws, this time directly at TK's neck. But just as Gizamon fired, he  
was blindside tackled by Patamon and Veemon, who had come to the rescue. They  
hit him hard enough to mess up the trajectory, sending the saws flying high and  
just barely over TK's head.  
  
The surprise attack not only succeeded in knocking Gizamon out, but stopping TK  
in his tracks and bring him back to his senses.  
  
"And stay down!" Veemon said, getting off of Gizamon.  
  
"Serves you right for attacking TK!" Patamon added.  
  
"Patamon and Veemon?" TK blinked, surprised to see them there. "Then that must  
mean..."  
  
TK glanced to his right, as did Honda (but it was his left). Davis emerged from  
the forest with a smile of determination on his face.  
  
"Okay you," Davis began, pointing at Honda, "this ends right here!"  
  
"There's nowhere to go," TK cut in, moving again towards Honda. "You're  
surrounded."  
  
TK was right. With Gizamon unconscious, Patamon and Veemon to his right, Davis  
to his left, and TK right in front of him, there was no way out. Or was there?  
  
"Curse you all!" Honda yelled angrily as he turned around to run. Unfortunately,  
there were now two more individuals blocking his escape... Kari and Gatomon.  
  
"What's going on?" Kari asked, not quite clear on the situation.  
  
"Kari, it's dangerous!" Davis shouted at her. "Get out of here!"  
  
But Kari was too focused on the blood spilling from TK's left shoulder.  
  
"TK!"  
  
Without any concern for the current situation, Kari ran right past Honda and over  
to TK. She immediately forced TK to lay down on the ground so that she could have  
a better look at the cut.  
  
"What happened?" Kari asked.  
  
"Honda's Gizamon attacked me!" TK replied, lifting his head up to show Honda the  
scowl on his face.  
  
"Is that true?" Kari turned to look at Honda.  
  
Honda looked as if he was going to make up a lie, but with all of the witnesses  
that were around, there was absolutely no chance of making it believeable.  
  
"Yes," Honda finally answered, bowing his head.  
  
"Why would you do that?" Kari asked.  
  
"I'll tell you why," TK sputtered. "Because he's working for them!"  
  
"Them?" Davis scratched his head in confusion. "Who's them?"  
  
"You mean he's one of the sleazeballs going around and trashing Digimon villages?"  
Gatomon shouted, enraged.  
  
"You'll pay for hurting all those innocent Digimon!" Veemon exclaimed.  
  
"How could you be so cruel?" Patamon asked, almost coming to tears.  
  
"Who told you that you could play with life this way?" Kari asked, leaving TK's  
side and stomping over towards Honda. "I thought I knew you better than that!"  
  
"Believe me, I have my reasons."  
  
"Well, I'd like to hear them!" Kari was standing right in front of Honda,  
practically in his face now.  
  
"I..." Honda said slowly, "I did it... I did it for you."  
  
Everyone's faces lit up with shock. They couldn't believe Honda had just said  
that he had done it to impress Kari.  
  
"What were you thinking?" Kari shouted angrily.  
  
"Yeah!" Davis added. "I never even did anything this remotely crazy just to  
impress Kari!"  
  
"Ever since the first day I met you, I knew that there was something between us,"  
Honda told Kari. "I've always imagined the day that we'd finally be one. But  
then came that fateful night at that Digidestined social 13 years ago..."  
  
======  
  
Kari was off in a corner of the room, chatting with some friends, which included  
her older brother Tai and his then-girlfriend, an American brunette named Peg,  
as well as a light brown ponytail-haired guy who's identity's about to revealed.  
  
Enter Honda, strutting his way over to the group. He's gotten over his nervous  
sickness from a few minutes ago, but the butterflies don't look as if they've  
gone away. His struts quickly change to cautious tiptoes and even an occassional  
backstep.  
  
"I can do this," Honda said to himself over and over again, closing his eyes and  
taking a deep breath. "She'll say yes, I know she will!"  
  
Honda opened his eyes... and saw TK tapping Kari on the shoulder.  
  
"Oh, hi TK!" Kari said happily, turning around to look at him.  
  
"TK!" Tai cut in. "Just the man I wanted to see! I want to introduce you to  
this fine fellow here next to me."  
  
Tai pointed to the guy with the ponytail, but TK wasn't too concerned with him  
at this very moment.  
  
"Not right now, Tai!"  
  
At that point, TK did something no one there expected. As he reached into the  
inner pocket of tuxedo, he kneeled down on one knee.  
  
"He's not... is he?" Honda asked himself as he ran over to stop him.  
  
"Kari? We've known each other for 15 years now. We haven't always been  
together, but in spirit we've been there for each other..."  
  
"Hey, what are you doing?"  
  
"What does it look like?" TK asked, getting up from the floor. "I'm about to  
ask for Kari's hand in marriage!"  
  
"Wait a minute!" Honda shouted back. "I was going to ask for Kari's hand in  
marriage!"  
  
"Cool!" Peg exclaimed excitedly. "A real-life reenactment of my favorite reality  
show, 'The Bachelorette!'"  
  
"Kari," Tai glanced at her younger sister, "what's going on?"  
  
"I'm as confused as you are," Kari replied.  
  
"I got here first!" TK shouted.  
  
"Well, I saw her first!" Honda shouted back.  
  
"I've known her a whole lot longer than you have!"  
  
"I've been closer to her than you've ever been!"  
  
"Will you two knock it off?" Tai yelled as he got in between the two. "You're  
both fighting for nothing."  
  
"Nothing?" TK wondered out loud. "Kari's more than just nothing, Tai."  
  
"Yeah!" Honda added on. "She's everything!"  
  
"I appreciate the gesture you two, but..." Kari pulled the guy that was with her  
up to the forefront of the conversation. "I'm already spoken for."  
  
Kari gently grabbed the guy's left hand with her right and raised it up. And on  
the index finger of each hand... was a diamond engagement ring.  
  
"TK and Honda, I'd like you to meet my future husband, Ryo Yoshinaga!"  
  
TK and Honda's mouths figuratively fell right to the floor.  
  
"I told you that you should've told them when you actually got engaged," Tai  
whispered to her little sister.  
  
Ryo and Kari then shared a small kiss, which effectively ended any of the guys'  
hopes of winning Kari over.  
  
======  
  
"I remember now," Honda scowled. "If it weren't for TK and that Ryo character,  
I'd be happily married to you right now, Kari!"  
  
"If you think that what you did would impress me, you're sadly mistaken!"  
  
"Like I told TK... I didn't want to delete the Digimon, but they got too annoying  
for me to stand. So I had Gizamon take care of them."  
  
"You monster!" TK yelled, trying to get up again even though Patamon was now by  
his side, attempting to stop him.  
  
"You've got to do what you've got to do," Honda remarked before pulling his D-3  
out of his pocket. "Anyway, I wish I could stick around and chat more, but I've  
got to go."  
  
He aimed his D-3 to a spot right under the unconscious Gizamon. A Digi-port  
opened underneath Gizamon, sucking him in, much to Veemon's surprise. It closed  
up just as quickly, before anyone could react.  
  
"We will meet again," Honda said to the group before aiming the D-3 behind him,  
opening yet another a Digi-port.  
  
"Wait!" Kari yelled.  
  
"I'm sorry, Kari, but time waits for no one. Not even someone as beautiful as  
you."  
  
With that, Honda turned around and ran through the Digi-port. Kari ran after  
him, but the portal closed up right as she got there, denying her passage.  
  
"Come back!" Kari shouted. "COME BACK!"  
  
======  
  
"We need to hurry!" Matt exclaimed. "Something bad's happened, Penelope. I just  
know it!"  
  
Back up on the space station, Penelope was typing away at her computer, doing  
just about anything to get a Digi-port to open for them. But so far they've had  
no success at all.  
  
"The future of the Digital World could be in jeopardy!" Gabumon added.  
  
"Keep your fur on," Penelope remarked, not taking her eyes off the screen. "It's  
not exactly easy to create a Digi-port from here. I need time to calculate all  
the correct vectors, find a satellite to bounce the signal off of, and find a  
computer on Earth to use as a connection point. It could take at least another  
hour!"  
  
Penelope types silently for a few more seconds, and then she suddenly stops.  
  
"Done."  
  
"Really? I thought you said..."  
  
"Do you really take everything I say literally?"  
  
"Well, yeah. You're a child genius, after all."  
  
"Teenage genius is the correct term, Matt. Anyway, I've managed to open a portal  
to the Digital World via Osaka, Japan. The portal will only be open for two more  
minutes, so you have to go now if you're going to make it."  
  
A Digi-port materialized on the computer screen. Penelope wheeled her chair back  
and out of the way as Matt took out his D-3 and held it up to the screen.  
  
"Here goes nothing!" Matt yelled as he and Gabumon were sucked right into the  
screen.  
  
Once they were gone, Penelope leaned back in her chair, pulled a nail file out  
of her blouse pocket, and started to do her fingernails.  
  
"Looks like I'm done working for today," she remarked as she reached over with  
her right foot and pressed the shut down button on her keyboard.  
  
======  
  
Meanwhile, at the research laboratory in Osaka, a Digi-port was opening in the  
main room. Yoshi was at work stabilizing the portal, while Izzy and Sora, back  
from their trek in the eastern quadrant, waited to see who was returning.  
  
"You think it's Tai and Mimi?" Sora asked.  
  
"As long as Catherine's kept them from killing each other," Izzy replied.  
  
The Digi-port opens, but it turns out that it's not coming from the Digital World.  
It's coming from a computer in the real world... from Tokyo, to be exact.  
  
"Alright, where is he? Where's Davis?"  
  
Izzy and Sora both gulped as Dora Motimiya stepped out of the portal. Sora  
quickly pushed Izzy in front of her.  
  
"Izzy would be glad to explain everything," Sora fake-smiled before running out  
of the room.  
  
"Why me?" Izzy yelped as Dora moved in on him.  
  
"I want to know where Davis is!" Dora yelled angrily.  
  
"Help!"  
  
******  
  
Author's Notes:  
So, the details of Kari's engagement and the reactions of TK, Davis, and Honda  
have now all been document. In addition, not only did we get to learn the name  
of Kari's husband, Ryo, but we learned of Tai's wife's name too, Peg.  
  
First off, although I'm playing off the fact that there are fans of the Kari-Ryo  
coupling (with Ryo being any version of him that you fancy), this is not the same  
Ryo. Doesn't look the same and doesn't have the same last name.  
  
Speaking of last names, Yoshinaga does play some significance, as it was a last  
name that I ended up borrowing from a teacher of another anime. Yoshinaga is the  
last name of the female kindergarten teacher that teaches a class that has a boy  
named Shinnosuke Nohara (aka "Shinchan") from the series "Crayon Shinchan."  
Thanks to the latest issue of Animerica for providing the name. Anyway, Shinchan's  
a troublemaker in the vines of Bart Simpson, only worse. Imagine a troublemaker  
like him in a class taught by Kari, and you have a very reasonable facsimile.  
You also now know why Kari switched out of teaching first graders and moved to  
fifth graders. Very important, since there'll be a slightly deeper explanation  
to this in a much later episode.  
  
As for Peg, Tai's husband, the fact that she's an American draws back a few  
episodes to when you saw the flashbacks of Tai and Mimi when they attended college  
together. You'll also see how Tai met Peg in a later episode... but this episode  
is just a get-to-know-she-exists appearance.  
  
***** Next Episode - Highway to the Danger Zone *****  
Regrouping from their battles with the Digidestined, the evil five humans and their Digimon  
plot to get rid of our heroes once and for all. Meanwhile, Izzy has the difficult task of  
explaining the situation to both Dora and Matt! And finally, Kari spills the beans on how she  
fell in love with Ryo as she, TK, and Davis wait for help to arrive. 


	12. Highway to the Danger Zone

"The Circle of the Digidestined," written by Freedom Fighter 

Disclaimer: None of the characters, human or Digimon, belong to me, the writer.

Author's Warning: The following fanfic features gruesome character death, both of the human and Digimon kind, violence of varying levels, some profane language, and some suggestive situations. Please do not read this fanfic if you're underage or feel that you cannot handle any of said features.

This particular episode features mild profanity and gruesome depictions.

* * *

In an unknown location somewhere in the real world, White was watching video feed of each of his accomplices' attempts at wreaking havoc in the Digiworld. In the background, sounds of recording and analyzing equipment rang and buzzed endlessly as notes were compiled to be later used for formulating a strategy to take down the Digidestined and both the real world and the Digital World.

"Soon and very soon, my plan will be realized! Now that we know who the Digidestined are and what they are capable of, we can plan accordingly!"

White then turned his attention to the video feed labeled 'Red,' and saw some unsettling footage...

* * *

_"Believe me, I have my reasons," Red said._

_"Well, I'd like to hear them!" Kari was standing right in front of Honda,  
practically in his face now._

_"I..." Honda said slowly, "I did it... I did it for you."_

_"If you think that what you did would impress me, you're sadly mistaken!"_

* * *

"Hmmm..." White noted. "Maybe he was right. His old feelings for the Digidestined of Light are resurfacing. Well, we'd better nip this in the bud before it causes him to make a careless mistake."

He walked over to a nearby desk and picked up his beige brown D-3 off of it. He pressed a button and started to talk into it.

"I've got a new assignment for you... and the Digidestined will inevitably help in the fall of one of their own."

White smiles evilly at his last comment as he ends his communication.

**Episode Twelve - Highway to the Danger Zone (05.30.05)**

In Sector 7.14 in the Northern Quadrant, Patamon, Gatomon, and Veemon were searching the ruins of the now completely burned down village, all still with hope that they might find a survivor or two. On the hill overlooking it, Kari was tearing pieces off of TK's shirt to use as a makeshift tourniquet to try and stop the bleeding. TK had been torn up pretty bad by Gizamon's Spiral Saws, and he was having trouble staying conscious.

"Hang in there, TK!" Kari shouted worriedly, doing everything in her power to keep TK alive.

She then turned towards Davis, who was punching buttons on his D-3 in a panic.

"Come on, come on!" he yelled. "Why won't this stupid portal open?"

"What's wrong?" Kari asked.

"It's not allowing me to open a portal back to the lab! My D-3 says there's a lack of resources."

"That shouldn't be. It's not like we're in a remote part of the Digiworld... gasp... unless the others are trying to get back at this very moment too!"

"So... we can't get back to Osaka?"

"Not the lab... the system's probably overloaded with transport requests. See if you can access any other portals in the city. We need to get back to the real world, now!"

Kari then turned back towards TK and ran a hand through his hair, despite that some of his blood had gotten onto her while she was working on him.

"Don't worry, TK... you're going to live through this! I promise!"

* * *

At the Digimon Research Laboratory in Osaka, the portal was still active from June's recent exit, though neither June or Izzy were present. Yoshi was, though, and he was trying to figure out why the portal wasn't closing.

"What is wrong with this thing?" he asked aloud. "The longer this portal remains open, the greater the chance of the power grid overloading!"

"We've got two incoming!" exclaimed an assistant. "One human, one Digimon. Uh... Digimon DNA confirmed... it's a Gabumon!"

"A Gabumon? Then that means..."

Matt Ishida and Gabumon came flying out of the portal, crash landing on the floor in front of the portal, which shut off immediately after they had gotten through. The scientists all run over in a scramble.

"Wow... talk about a wild ride," noted Matt as he slowly got to his feet.

"That's the last time I travel back to Earth that way!" Gabumon exclaimed, rubbing his sore horn... among other things.

"We've been expecting you," Yoshi said, relieved at Matt's long-awaited arrival.

Matt shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I wasn't exactly in position for an immediate response. So... what's going on?"

"Follow me and Izzy'll explain everything."

* * *

Yoshi took Matt and Gabumon to the briefing room. Upon entering, they found Izzy in the midst of explaining to Dora what was going on. But instead of being her angry, hyperactive self, she was deathly quiet as all of the horrible events of the day so far were described to her.

"Dora?" Matt asked, noticing her presence there. "What are you doing here? Since when did you gain access to the Research Lab?"

"That's not important," Izzy cutted in. "What is important is that I get you up to speed on everything that's happening. Please, take a seat..."

Matt sat down next to Dora, and Gabumon followed, pushing up a seat next to his partner.

"It all started five hours ago, during a routine census of Sector 3 of the Digiworld's Western Quadrant. Joe was part of a three-person unit assigned to that task. But suddenly, they were attacked by a stampede of Jagamon."

"What?" Matt freaked. "How did that happen? And is Joe alright?"

Izzy sighed. "Sadly, no. All three of them were trampled to death."

Matt gasped in shock. He couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"Poor Joe..." wailed Dora, coming out of her still trance temporarily.

Matt reached over to comfort Dora, who leant over and began to cry into his shirt. He then looked over towards Izzy again.

"How did this happen?"

"Mimi was in the Digiworld at the time, and she overheard five men and their Digimon talking about the incident and how they were trying to get out of the area before they were discovered."

"Do we have ID's on these guys or their Digimon yet?"

"Not yet. We're working on it... you know Mimi's not the best when it comes to having photographic memory."

"So... where is everyone?" Gabumon asked. "Matt's D-3 said that all of the Digidestined needed to report here ASAP."

"Most of them are still out in the field. The perps didn't wait long to attack... and in four separate areas of the Digiworld, to boot! We had to split up... Tai, Mimi, and Catherine went in one group, Sora and I in a second, Ken, Yolei, and Cody in a third, and TK, Kari, and Davis in a fourth."

"Well, if you're back, then that means..."

Izzy nodded. "Yes, your wife is here. She's watching the kids."

"The kids? You mean... Michelle and Sam are here too?"

"Yeah... June paid us a visit, and they were with her."

Matt huffed. "Unbelievable."

Izzy got up out of his seat and started walking around. "We need to figure out what these guys are really up to. They probably weren't expecting us to respond so soon... they must be planning something big."

"You're hoping that the others are able to report on this?"

"Yeah. Until we know what we're up against, we can't exactly fight against it. Not unless we want to be walking into a death trap, that is."

"I see. Wait... what about TK? Is he alright?"

Izzy shrugged his shoulders. "Last time I checked he was. Why?"

Matt lowered his head despondently. "I've got a bad feeling about this..."

* * *

"Okay... I got one!" Davis shouted, aiming his D-3 at a nearby arbitrary spot and opening a portal back to the real world.

Kari slowly brought TK to his feet and draped one of his arms around the back of her neck. She then moved towards the portal, TK seemingly going in and out of consciousness in the process.

"Where does it lead to?" she asked as Davis moved to help her.

"I'm not sure... but we're definitely a few miles away from the lab."

Davis took TK's other arm and draped it over his shoulders, so that now TK's feet were no longer dragging on the ground.

"We don't have much time. The moment we get back to the real world, we're calling for ambulance. Then we'll contact Izzy and tell him and the others what's going on."

"What about Veemon and the others?"

"Don't worry about them, Davis. They're just doing damage control right now. We won't need protection in the real world anyway."

The duo walked into the portal one step at a time, pulling TK's injured body along with them.

* * *

Somewhere in Osaka, two hands reached down under the dashboard to hotwire a Ferrari Enzo Coupe. After a minute or two, the sportscar's powerful engine roared to life. The car thief slipped in and buckled up. He revealed his identity thanks to the blue short sleeve shirt he was wearing as he put the Ferrari into first gear and sped off. Moments later, the car's owner ran out of the restaurant it was parked in front of.

"Hey, come back!" he yelled. "Man... and I only had one more payment to go..."

* * *

Inside the Ferrari...

"Ha ha ha ha!" Blue chuckled aloud. "I'm gonna kill me a bitch!"

The Ferrari then flew off the top of a hill, to the surprise of other motorists and pedestrians in the area.

* * *

"What is up with everyone trying to use our portal at once?"

Yoshi and the other scientists were scrambling as once again the portal had suddenly come to life. And with its constant use, the circuits were beginning to overheat.

"Whomever this is better have a good reason for trying to force their way here, or else..."

"It's another human and a Digimon! But the system doesn't recognize either of them!"

"Quick!" Yoshi exclaimed. "Call for a Code Red Alert, Level-One priority!"

* * *

Alarms started ringing throughout the facility, grabbing the attention of humans and Digimon alike.

"Code red, code red! Level-One alert! Unidentified intruders attempting to gain access to the facility through the main portal room! I repeat... Code red, code red! Level-One alert! Unidentified intruders..."

* * *

Izzy and Matt bursted out of the briefing room and were greeted by Sora and Tentomon. Dora and Gabumon appeared right behind them.

"Sora!" Matt said, overjoyed.

"Matt! You finally made it!" Sora rejoiced.

"This is no time to catch up on your time apart!" Izzy yelled. "Sora... get Dora here to the bunker with the other civilian personnel! Bring the rest of the Digimon with you! Tentomon, you're with us!"

"Oh goody!" Tentomon cheered. "Time to kick some intruder butt!"

"Nice to see you've noticed I'm here," Gabumon spoke up.

"Oops..." Tentomon sweatdropped. "Sorry about that..."

"Let's move!" Izzy exclaimed. "We've got an intruder to take care of!"

* * *

In an instant, Izzy, Matt, Tentomon, and Gabumon arrived into the main laboratory, where all but the high-level essential scientists and the base's military personnel had fled the area. The foursome made their way through the crowd and to the front line.

"What's the status?" Izzy asked Yoshi.

"The intruders are somehow getting through our security system! They'll be emerging from the portal any second now!"

"The men are ready!" the squad leader told Izzy.

Izzy nodded. "Matt and I will handle this. But if this intruder turns out to be hostile and we can't dispatch of him..."

"Understood," the leader cutted in.

Izzy then signaled for Matt, Tentomon, and Gabumon to step forward and get into position. All of the men loaded their guns and aimed them at the portal entrance. Tension filled the air as everyone waited for the intruders to walk out.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps became apparent as a human and a Digimon finally began to materialize. The men were expecting a bulky individual with a tough-looking Digimon to come out, ready to bring the whole place down.

What they got instead was a beautiful blonde in an orange short sleeve shirt and an ankle-length yellow skirt. And a cute Digimon in Floramon.

"When you said your security system was tight, you weren't kidding!" Catherine said, holding up her rouge red D-3 for all to see... and it looked like the circuits on it were burned.

"Catherine?" Izzy and Matt asked simultaneously.

"You know this woman?" questioned the military captain.

"Stand down," Izzy said to the men. "She's a Digidestined."

"You heard him... everyone move out!"

As the soldiers began to file out of the lab, Catherine giggled innocently as Matt glared at Izzy.

"I thought this base had a database on all of the Digidestined of the world! We're supposed to be able to get through the portal without any fuss!"

Izzy scratched his head. "I don't understand... Catherine, you should be in the database!"

"I'm pretty sure that's the case. I did send my renewal papers in last month. On time, even!"

"But she's not in the system, Izzy," Yoshi said, in the process of cross-checking the database.

"That's impossible!" Izzy exclaimed, running over. "Every living Digidestined in the world should be registered in the database!"

"Wait a minute... here she is!"

Catherine and Matt walked over and joined Izzy in glancing over Yoshi's shoulders. They all spotted Catherine's name... under the 'Pending Renewal' heading.

"You mean Catherine's info hasn't been gone through yet?" Matt asked.

"It lists a Code 05 and a Code 08," Yoshi said, accessing the profile.

"Uh..." Catherine stammered.

"Japanese for all of us not fluent in geek speak," Matt clarified.

Izzy and Yoshi looked for a rebuttal to the so-called insult, but they didn't have one.

"Basically," Izzy spoke up after a second, "05 means you turned in a paper form and some item on it wasn't cleared, and 08 means your form didn't receive final approval clearance from me."

Yoshi chuckled as he glanced at Catherine. "You still use the paper form? Hello... it's the 21st Century here!"

"I cannot help it if I am, how do you say, an old-fashioned girl!"

Izzy sighed. "We'll take care of the logistics later."

Yoshi stood up and motioned for Catherine to hand over her D-3. She did so quickly.

"The technicians will have this fixed and back to normal working order shortly!"

With that, Yoshi ran off with Catherine's D-3. Before Catherine could catch her breath, though, Izzy pressed her for a report.

"So, what's the word on that incident in the Western Quadrant?"

"The word is, Monsieur Izumi, is that we were attacked."

"Attacked? By whom?"

"A Hagurumon, I believe it was. And his human partner."

Matt looked at Izzy. "Are there any Digidestined who have a Hagurumon?"

"Not that I'm aware of," replied the resident genius.

"So, what happened to him, Catherine?"

"He escaped. And he said 'This is only the beginning!'"

"What about Tai and Mimi?" Izzy asked. "Are they okay? And have they stopped arguing?"

Catherine giggled again. "They're fine. In fact, they're more than fine. I'd even go so far as to say they're making up... real French-like, even!"

"Now I'm the one confused," Izzy said, scratching his head.

"Um..." Matt began, "maybe we should give Tai and Mimi a little more time."

"Fine, whatever," Izzy agreed, still not getting the point. "We'd better check on the others. See if they've found out anything about our enemies."

* * *

"I applaud you all for finding out so much about our enemies!"

White and the rest of his accomplices, minus Blue, were gathered around a table and were hard at work discussing their next move.

"So what's our next move, boss?" Yellow asked.

Green reached over and smacked Yellow upside the head. "Will you let him tell us first?"

"Our next move is already being played as we speak," White smiled.

"What are you talking about? And where's Blue?" Red wondered out loud.

"You shall see..."

* * *

The dinner rush was in full effect at Luciano's, the only real Italian-flavored pizza place in all of Osaka. Luigi Marcolia was the manager on duty, and he was also working the register. At this particular point in time, he was dealing with an unruly customer.

"1100 yen for two slices of pizza?" a tall, teenage boy asked. "Are you serious?"

"We're the only place in Osaka that serves pizza the way it's served in Italy!" Mr. Marcolia said back. "And that means we get fresh ingredients straight from my home country! You don't like it, then you don't have to eat it! Simple as that."

The teenager grumbled as he forked over the exact amount for his food. But as the restaurant manager was about to punch it into the computer, a Digiport appeared, pushing him back into the brick wall behind him.

Kari and Davis walked out of the Digiport, each with one of TK's arms draped around their necks. The employees and customers alike were stunned at TK's condition, especially since his face was starting to look pale.

"What is this tomfoolery?" Mr. Marcolia asked.

"We need an ambulance!" Kari and Davis said simultaneously. "NOW!"

* * *

Using his D-3 as a tracking device, Blue drove ferociously towards his target, with no care for any traffic, vehicular or pedestrian, that stood in his way.

"This is my chance," Blue thought to himself. "This is my chance to prove who the superior gender in this world is! The only gender that deserves to live!"

* * *

"Let's lay him down here," Davis suggested.

With the help of some of the patrons in line, Davis and Kari had managed to get TK to an open place on the floor to lie flat on.

"Okay, he needs some air!" Kari yelled, as she watched Davis attempt to keep everyone from crowding around TK.

"There's an ambulance on the way!" one of the female employees yelled from the kitchen door.

"Thanks, Maria!" Mr. Marcolia yelled. "And where's Akira with that first-aid kit!"

"Right here, sir!" Akira shouted as he emerged from the stock room.

Akira knelt down beside his manager and opened up the kit. Mr. Marcolia reached in and pulled out some dressing to replace the tatters of TK's shirt that Kari had originally wrapped TK's wounds with.

"Are you gonna tell me what's wrong with him?" he asked as Kari began unwrapping the makeshift tourniquet.

"He was attacked in the Digiworld by a Digimon," Kari said. "It got him really bad in his left shoulder."

"This wouldn't have anything to do with the pandemonium in the Digital World I heard about on the news a few hours ago, would it?"

"Yes. This is related to that, in a way."

Mr. Marcolia, as well as everyone else in the restaurant, peered in and saw just how bad TK was hit. The skin covering the blade was almost non-existant, and the cartilage that connected TK's shoulder blade to his left arm was exposed, though it looked practically undamaged. The flow of blood had been reduced significantly, but with the wound uncovered, it was attempting to pick up again.

TK, semi-conscious at the time, winced and writhed in pain, especially now that his wound was exposed to the air again. Some of the restaurant's customers couldn't stand the site of the open wound, and they decided to step away... either outside, or to the restroom.

"Okay," Mr. Marcolia said, readying the dressing. "You're going to have to lift his shoulder off the ground so I can wrap this around."

Kari nodded. Akira pulled out two pair of gloves and handed them to Kari and to his manager. Once they were set, they immediately went to work.

"Lift gently... we don't want to make his condition any worse!"

* * *

"Almost there!" Blue yelled, pushing as hard as he could on the gas pedal. "She'll be out of our hair for good!"

* * *

Kari held TK's left shoulder up and moved her fingers around carefully as Mr. Margolia began dressing the wound. Her mind should've only been on TK, but Davis noticed a wandering look in her eyes. One that didn't look normal to him.

"Uh, Kari, are you okay?" he asked. "You want me to take over?"

Kari looked up at Davis as if to respond, but she didn't nod or shake her head.

"Okay... I'm coming over! Quick, a few of you move Kari away from TJ once I take her place, okay?"

Two nearby males nodded as they let Davis slide in under TK's exposed shoulder, without gloves, no less, and then they pulled Kari out of the way.

"She doesn't look too well," one of them said.

"Maybe she's just freaked out?" suggested the other as they watched Kari begin to breathe a little quicker than normal.

"She might need air," Mr. Marcolia told them. "Find something to hold the door open and then lie her face up beside it! And check her pulse and heartbeat, just to be sure!"

The restaurant patrons worked together to help Kari walk over to the door and to comfort her, if needed. Meanwhile, Mr. Marcolia was finishing up on TK.

"Just a few more times around..."

"Hurry..." Davis said, repulsed at the blood dripping on his hands.

* * *

"It's time for you to DIE!" Blue screamed at the top of his lungs.

The Ferrari he had stolen and was driving screeched as it flew over the crest of the hill overlooking Luciano's. Having unlocked the doors in advance, Blue leapt from the driver's side and rolled onto the pavement, right into a nearby lamp post. The car,  
meanwhile, uncontrollably barreled down the hill, right at the restaurant!

Immediately, people on the streets and those right by the front door inside quickly ran to get out of the way. Those who had carried Kari over to the door were swift enough to get her out the door and were pulling her to safety. But despite Kari's strange state of mind, she seemed to be awake enough to watch helplessly as the Ferrari crashed through the front of the restaurant and the screams that accompanied it.

"NNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Wow... I bet you're all saying. The last episode of this series was posted in June of 2003, and here we are almost two whole years later, and I give you this heartstopper.  
Nice way to say 'welcome back to the fold,' huh?

Um... I think everything's self-explanatory for this episode. The one or two things that may have to be... I won't, because they will be in future episodes.

The one thing I will say, though... the whole sequence of running a car into the restaurant wasn't the original plan. Originally, TK, Kari, and Davis were to return to the real world, get a hold of a car, and then drive to the hospital. On the way there, it was Blue that was supposed to force them into an accident... one that he intended for none of them to walk away from.

**Next Episode - Don't Go to the Light  
**The other Digidestined are regrouping at the Research Lab, unaware of what has transpired at Luciano's just a few miles away. Meanwhile, as local law enforcement dig through what's left of the restaurant, who will survive this horrific accident?  
The answer will shock you, and will bring a few grown men to tears.


	13. Don't Go to the Light

"The Circle of the Digidestined," written by Freedom Fighter 

Disclaimer: None of the characters, human or Digimon, belong to me, the writer.

Author's Warning: The following fanfic features gruesome character death, both of the human and Digimon kind, violence of varying levels, some profane language, and some suggestive situations. Please do not read this fanfic if you're underage or feel that you cannot handle any of said features.

* * *

A blustery wind blew through the snowy wasteland known as Sector 0.00 of the Southern Quadrant of the Digital World. The fluffy, white remains of a recent storm drifted back and forth over the surrounding area, making visibility there next to nothing. The chilling temperatures made it dangerous for any warm-blooded Digimon, or human for that matter, to survive out in the open.

The squadron of Digidestined sent there to stop a man and his Digimon from scaring away the Frigimon population were now trapped. But not by the perpetrator, but by Mother Nature herself, as they were forced to take shelter inside his tent. The weather was not only preventing them from moving around outside, but opening a portal back to the real world.

"Brrrr..." chattered Yolei as she rubbed her hands to keep herself warm. "I can't believe we're stranded like this!"

"Something's not right," Cody managed to blurt out as he was starting to get chills.

"I'll say!" Hawkmon exclaimed. "Bird Digimon aren't meant to thrive in such freezing temperatures!"

"I agree, and I'm not even a bird Digimon!" Armadillomon added.

"There must be someway out of here..." began Wormmon, turning to his partner. "Right, Ken?"

Ken nodded in response, though he too was worried. "What could that man have been doing here? It doesn't look like there's been any real damage or Digimon hurt."

The others glanced at the detective, as he deduced his thoughts aloud.

"Did he know the weather was about to worsen? Was he setting up a trap for us?"

"Ken?" Yolei asked, a little perplexed and stunned of the revelation.

Ken jumped up from his seat on the ground and clenched his fist in anger.

"If he did... then why didn't he get rid of us when he had the chance? Could it be... he's delaying us from discovering who their true target is?"

The others gasped in shock.

"If that's the case," Cody piped in, "then who are they really after?"

* * *

"Somebody call an ambulance!"

That was the scream yelled by several individuals around what was left of Luciano's, Osaka's only real Italian pizzeria. Only now, the restaurant was in shambles. Most of the front wall and the eatery area of the building had been destroyed. Though some people were digging themselves out of the rubble, others were trapped under all the debris.

Among those inside the restaurant when the incident occurred were TK, who had been injured during a battle with a Gizamon, and Davis, who at the time was in the process of helping wrap proper bandaging around his shoulder wounds until he could be treated properly at the local hospital.

But after the glass of the building's windows were shattered by a Ferrari speeding uncontrollably into it at 70 miles an hour, TK was no longer the only person in need of serious medical attention. Many of the eatery's patrons were now lying injured and bleeding in and around what was left of the dining area. A few were already dead, particularly those that were struck by the car as it crash landed near the cash register.

Akira and Maria, along with the rest of the kitchen staff, had their hands busy trying to dig their boss, Mr. Marcolia, out of the rubble. The manager was trapped beneath some bricks and the remains of a few nearby tables, covered from the waist down. He was wincing in pain even as his co-workers worked feverishly to free him.

"Are you okay, boss?" Akira asked.

"I'll live," Mr. Marcolia snidely remarked. "What's more important are these other people buried around us! We've got to dig 'em out!"

"But sir... you're hurt! I won't allow you to injure yourself further..."

Half of the workers finished digging their boss out and, per Akira's request, carefully carried him out of the restaurant. The other half went to work trying to free the other victims while they were still living.

Suddenly, a nearby small pile of rubble began to rise. Out of it came Davis, who rubbed the back of his head fiercely as he slowly rose to his feet.

"Dude, what the hell happened?"

Davis turned around and noticed that the front of Luciano's had been damaged beyond repair. He then for the first time noticed that the back of his head was bleeding. He also felt a numbing pain in all of his appendages, and that it was getting harder for him to remain standing as he felt his legs start to buckle under him.

But as he collapsed into unconsciousness, one last thought managed to stand out in his mind.

"TK... where is... T... K..."

**Episode Thirteen - Don't Go to the Light (06.07.05)**

_"Davis..."_

_A soft, soothing voice filled Davis' ears, attempting to awaken him._

_"Davis..."_

_Davis started to stir a little, but he still wasn't waking up._

_"Forget him," entered second voice, one of which Davis also recognized. "He's out like a light. He won't mind if we push him off the bed so we can make out."_

_"I HEARD THAT!" Davis yelled as he came out of his slumber in a hurry._

_TK and Kari laughed out loud together, clutching their sides as they were barely able to contain themselves. Davis didn't seem to get the joke, though._

_"What was that all about?" Davis asked angrily. "And what are you doing in my room... hey, wait a minute! What am I doing in my room?"_

_Davis looked around his bedroom. His unusually clean bedroom, which hadn't changed since his childhood... save for a poster on one wall of Ma Ma Maggie, who was once the owner of Japan's number one noodle cart restaurant._

_He then turned to look at TK and Kari. Not only did they both look like they were teenagers, they were dressed as if they had been to a wedding. TK was wearing a light blue tuxedo, while Kari was decked out in a pink form-fitting gown that covered almost her entire body. Davis then glanced at himself... and noticed that he too was wearing a tuxedo, though his was a slightly darker shade of blue, to match the jacket that he had on over it. And was looking as if he was still in senior high._

_"And why are we all dressed up? And teenagers?"_

_Kari shook her head as she and TK finally stopped laughing. She then helped Davis to an upright position on the bed, and then sat down next to him._

_"Boy, you really loved that punch, didn't you?" Kari said, trying to jog Davis' memory._

_TK nodded. "You must've had a few glasses before one of the chaperones found out it was spiked! By the time we found you, you were stumbling around like... well... um... let's just say worse than what's considered normal for you."_

_"What are you talking about?" Davis asked, still confused._

_"Man, he's still out of it," TK said, scratching his head. "Maybe we should take him to the hospital... have him checked out."_

_Kari sighed. "This is one prom night I'm sure we'd all like to forget..."_

_"Prom night?" Davis shouted. "Why am I back at prom? I'm 38, for crying out loud!"_

_TK and Kari shot their own looks of confusion, first at each other, then at Davis._

_"And here I thought Davis couldn't get any more insane..."_

_"TK!" Kari shouted, elbowing him in the stomach._

_"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?"_

* * *

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?"

Matt and Catherine just watched as Izzy ran around the main lab in a panic, all because the power source for the main teleporter had gone down just after Catherine's arrival, and he couldn't figure out why.

"Um..." Matt started to suggest, "don't you have a back-up generator?"

"Don't you think I've tried that already?" Izzy yelled at him.

"Sorry... I'm just tryin' to help!"

"Ooh, mes amis..." Catherine spoke up, feeling guilty. "if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be having this mess..."

"Don't say that," Matt said to her. "We know it's not your fault. Right, Izzy?"

Apparently Izzy didn't hear Matt, as he was still hopping from one station to another in the room.

"Right, Izzy?" Matt repeated, eyebrows twitching in anger.

"Huh?" Izzy finally replied, actually stopping with curiosity.

"I said we know it's not Catherine's fault! Unless you're saying it is..."

"I didn't say that all!"

"Then why didn't you say so when I asked you the first time?"

"If you hadn't noticed, we've got a big situation with both our world and the Digiworld in danger of being destroyed, and five of our own Digidestined unable to return here!"

"You're such a bonehead! You'd think with all that brain power you'd actually have some common sense!"

"What? Take that back!"

"Why should I? You only care about yourself and your computers!"

"Don't bring this lab into your stupid argument!"

"Why not? It's the reason for this stupid argument!"

Mattand Izzy growled angrily at each other, their foreheads pressed against one another. It looked like both of them were about to snap... until Catherine walked over and got in between the two.

"Please pardon me for what I'm about to do."

She then smacked both of them in the face... Izzy first, then Matt. The two stepped back from each other, taken aback from what had just happened. And rubbing the painfully fresh hand imprints that had been made on them.

"Regardless or not of whether I am to blame for this portal to go down, I apologize for inconviencing you guys. And let me just say for the record... I came here to help you guys save the world, not to break up petty little squabbles! What is with you Japanese and your desire to be macho? I always believed zat to be an American thing!"

"I think has something to do with the fact that you always hurt the ones you love the most," Matt said. "Or are friends with. Or something to that extent."

Izzy sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry if I acted out of line. And I don't blame you for the portal, Catherine. You did what you had to do."

Izzy then headed towards the hallway with his head lowered. Catherine motioned to go after him, but Matt gently placed his hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

"Let him go. I think he needs some time alone."

"Oh."

"I guess we'd better find Yoshi and the other technicians. I don't have a clue how to work any of this junk."

Matt and Catherine also headed out.

"You know, you smack almost as hard as Sora does."

"Well, we did take the same self-defense class the last time she was in Paris..."

* * *

_"TK... I have to tell you something."_

_"What? What is it Kari?"_

_TK and Kari were admiring the view from the top of Heighton View Terrace, as they sat with their legs dangling over the edge. TK seemed kind of lost in the moment until Kari had began speaking, as he began to notice something different about her._

_"I've been accepted to participate in Tokyo University's student exchange program! I'll be spending next semester in Venice, Italy!"_

_"What? Really? But... that can't be!"_

_"But TK... it is."_

_Alarms started going off in TK's head. He felt that something was not right._

_"But you took that internship in 2010!"_

_Kari giggled. "Are you sure Davis hasn't finally begun to rub off on you?"_

_"I'm being serious, Kari!"_

_"What are you talking about? It is 2010!"_

_"2010? But wasn't I just in the year... um... year... God, why can't I remember?"_

_Kari reached over and put her hand on TK's forehead. He quickly pulled away._

_"You don't feel like you've got a fever..."_

_"That's because I don't, Kari! Man... where am I? This is so strange!"_

* * *

"This is so strange!" Tai exclaimed aloud.

Back in the Digiworld, Tai was hard at work trying to open a portal back to Osaka. But for some strange reason, it wouldn't open.

"Come on, you useless piece of junk!" Tai shouted, shaking his D-3.

Suddenly, his D-3 came to life, rumbling and beeping like it had never done before. A portal suddenly materialized right in front of Tai. He glanced at the viewscreen and noticed that though the portal was leading to Osaka, it wasn't to the Digimon Research Lab.

"Well, whatever works."

Tai then turned back into the woods behind him and started yelling at the top of his lungs.

"Mimi, how long does it take you to get dressed? All you're wearing is a jacket and a nightgown, for crying out loud!"

"Pardon me for trying to look presentable!" Mimi shot back as she appeared in the clearing. If not for the bags under her eyes, she look refreshed as if she was starting a whole new day.

"It's not like the guys at the lab haven't seen you with so little clothing..."

Mimi snorted at that remark. "Your lewdness will get you so in trouble one of these days, Taichi!"

"Hey! No fair using my full name! No one does that, not even Kari!"

"Look, let's just get back to the lab, file this stupid report with Izzy, and then head back to New York! I want to get some sleep while the sun's still down!"

"Yeah yeah... but remember, you promise not to say anything about you-know-what..."

"And you do the same! No one is to know you-know-what ever happened!

The two reminded each other that their deal was sealed... with a pinky swear. Tai then sweatdropped at their ridiculous agreement ritual.

"A pinky swear?"

"With my busy life and how many promises I make to Monty, it's the only way I remember the important ones."

Tai and Mimi then stepped through the portal, off to who knows where...

* * *

_"Mommy... mommy! Why aren't we going to school, mommy?"_

_Kari snapped to and noticed that she was sitting in the driver's seat of her car, a brown Honda Accord. And buckled into the back seat behind her was her son, Akio._

_"What are you doing here, Akio? Matter of fact... what am I doing here?"_

_Suddenly, Kari heard the sound of someone knocking at her window. She turned and saw her husband, Ryo, standing there. It turned out that she was parked in the driveway of their very own home. She reached for the switch that lowered her window so she could talk to him._

_"Why am I back home?" Kari asked, perplexed._

_"You tell me, honey! You and Akio were supposed to leave ten minutes ago!"_

_"But... I could just swear I was somewhere else a minute ago..."_

_Ryo developed a look of concern on his face. "Are you feeling alright? Maybe you should call in sick and I should take Akio to school."_

_"No... I'm fine. I can manage."_

_"Well... okay then!"_

_Ryo leaned in and gave Kari a peck on the cheek. She then started the engine and backed out of the driveway. Kari and Akio waved goodbye to Ryo as she drove off._

_"This feels so familiar," Kari thought to herself. "I feel as if I'm reliving this morning all over again. But why? This is like the weirdest day ever..."_

* * *

"This is like the weirdest day ever..." Sora said, sitting at a table inside the bunker room, glancing up at an overhead TV.

"What do you mean?" Biyomon asked, seated next to her.

"I'm talking about this report on the news..."

Sora reached for the remote control to turn the volume up. As she did, it grabbed the attention of everyone in the immediate vicinity, including all of the Digimon.

"Car crashes into restaurant!" Tentomon said, reading the headline aloud.

"Talk about a fish out of water!" Gomamon joked.

Chiharu giggled as she uncontrollably gave Gomamon a few pats on the back. But Sora quieted her down as the male news journalist began to report on the situation.

"The peaceful business district of downtown Osaka was disrupted when a car was mysteriously driven into Luciano's Restaurant sometime just after 5:30 p.m. today. Witnesses claimed that a man was speeding through the city in a Ferrari Enzo Coupe, who jumped out as it barreled over this hill going at what some claim to be at least 100 kilometers an hour. The car crashed into the front of this restaurant, which was full of customers and employees alike. There are reporters of at least three dead and close to two dozen injured, many of them seriously. A number of victims were seen been taken to the hospital by ambulance, a couple with life-threatening injuries.

"The most surprising of all was a supposed eyewitness, who upon watching the suspect's car crash into the restaurant, suffered a heart attack. Her condition is unknown at this time. What we do know is that she is a member of the Digimon Protection Agency, which is in the process of investigating pre-meditated attacks on villages in the Digiworld on both humans and Digimon alike today. Whether or not this incident is related to these attacks is still unknown."

Everyone in the room was in shock over this. Many were trying to figure out who the victim was... but their suspicions were confirmed when the reporter held up a D-3.

"This is the agent's D-3. No identifying marks or information on it, so we do not know her identity yet. Even if the police do know by now, they will not be releasing it until they're able to get in contact with her relatives. The same can be said for all of today's victims..."

"Oh my God..." Sora exclaimed. "I've got to tell Izzy!"

* * *

"Can I help you?"

Tai and Mimi were surprised to have being launched out of a computer screen and into the main lobby of the Osaka General Hospital. All of those sitting in the room were giving them awkward glances, especially Mimi.

"What's with you people?" Mimi yelled. "You're all staring at me as if I'm clinically insane!"

"The yelling isn't helping..." Tai whispered to her.

"Can I help you?" repeated the voice of the nurse, who was looking rather angry over their sudden burst into the room.

"Sorry about the intrusion," apologized Tai. "Um... can we borrow a phone to call a taxi?"

"Um, Tai?"

"What is it, Mimi?"

Mimi had wandered over to the window, where she saw an ambulance unloading someone on a stretcher. Someone rather familiar.

"That looks like TK, doesn't it?" Mimi asked, pointing at the man unconscious on the stretcher as Tai came over to look.

"Something bad must've happened to him! Say... weren't Davis and Kari assigned to be with him? Where are they?"

"You don't think..."

Tai reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. In it was a picture taken two years ago, the last time all of the Japanese Digidestined and their families were in one place at the same time. He ran back over to the desk and slammed the photo down on it.

"Can you please tell me if either of these two have been admitted to this hospital?" Tai shouted, pointing to both Davis and Kari in the photo.

"Though I don't keep track of people that come through here, I'm pretty sure I saw that woman taken through here to the emergency room about seven minutes ago."

"It's of the utmost importance that you tell me where she is right now!"

"And why would that be?"

"Because I'm her older brother!"

* * *

A minute later, Tai was running down the hall towards the operating rooms. Mimi was trailing behind, unable to keep up with him.

"Don't worry... everything's going to be alright!" Tai thought.

* * *

_"First I was on top of Heighton View Terrace, and now I'm here in the dark!"_

_Sure enough, TK was now wandering around a space of nothingness. He placed his hands in front of him, as if he were feeling for a wall. But there was nothing there._

_"Hello! Anybody here? Anyone know what is this place?"_

* * *

_"I don't remember a tunnel being here," Kari said aloud, in a dark place of her own. "And where did Akio go? Akio?"_

_"Who turned out the lights again?" Davis yelled. "Don't you guys know dark places make me itchy! You'd better stop fooling around, TY!"_

* * *

"Where do you think you're going?" an orderly asked, blocking the path to the emergency room.

"I want to see my sister!" Tai yelled. "Kari Kamiya! She was admitted a couple of minutes ago!"

"No one's allowed in the ER when a patient's in surgery! You'll have to wait until the operation is complete."

"Darn it!" Tai clenched his fists angrily as Mimi finally arrived behind him, panting heavily and bending over to catch her breath. "She needs me! I know she does!"

* * *

_"This has got to be the trippiest dream I've ever been in," TK said aloud as he continued wandering around in the darkness. "Wait... what's that?"_

_A beam of light had appeared in the distance. And it was flashing, as if it was signaling for someone to come to it._

_"Well, anything's better than standing here in the dark."_

* * *

_"Finally!" Davis sighed, also catching sight of the light. "I was beginning to think I was going blind!"_

_Davis ran over towards where the beam was emanating from. By the time he got there, he saw TK arriving there at the exact same time._

_"TK!"_

_"Davis! You actually got my name right for once!"_

_Davis shrugged his shoulders. "You'd think by now I'd have gone through all of the letters that made up your name."_

_The two looked around, as if they were expecting to see Kari show up. They were right. Thing was... she had beaten them there, as they glanced up towards where the light was strongest. That's when they saw Kari floating in the air... and heading towards it._

_"Kari?" TK asked. "Where are you going?"_

_"Yeah... and why are you up there, instead of down here?" Davis added._

_Kari turned around to face the duo with a smile on her face._

_"I'm going to the light. I am the Digidestined of Light, after all."_

_"That makes sense," Davis quickly agreed._

_"Wait..." TK stepped in, a little weirded out. "Something's fishy around here..."_

_"The fate of the world rests in my hands," Kari told them. "It is my duty as the Digidestined of Light to step into the light. I am to go where I am truly needed."_

_"We don't understand, Kari!" TK exclaimed. "Why?"_

_"Yeah!" shouted Davis. "Doesn't the Digiworld need you? We save the world and stuff, remember?"_

_"I'm sorry... but I must go."_

_Kari did a complete 180-degree turn and started running towards the light beam. TK and Davis, feeling something was not right,attempted to give chase._

_"This is a journey I must take alone... goodbye, my friends..."_

_TK and Davis whited out as they watched Kari slowly disappear from their sight..._

* * *

"I heard there was someone here wanting to see a woman named Kari..." spoke a doctor who had wandered into the waiting area.

"That would be us," Tai said, jumping out of his seat.

"Is she alright?" Mimi, who was next to him, asked.

The doctor lowered his head and beckoned for Tai to follow him. But he didn't want to wait to be told any bad news. He was already fearing the worst.

"Don't tell me, doc..."

"I'm sorry... we couldn't save her."

Mimi gasped in shock over the news. Tai, on the other hand, had a look of disbelief on his face.

"This can't be true! I'm the older sibling! I'm supposed to be the one that bites the dust first! Me! This can't be true!"

"Tai..."

Tai dropped to his knees and started yelling at the ceiling, not caring what anyone else in the waiting room thought of him.

"It isn't supposed to be this way! She was such an... an angel! Take me! Take me! God almighty... please... please take meeee..."

Tai started sobbing heavily as he cried into his hands. Mimi knelt down next to him, and though she was crying as well, she managed to reach over and place one of her hands on his shoulders. She could only watch as the Digidestined leader mourned the loss of the one team member that he was the closest to.

His own sister, Kari.

The angel of Light.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Ouch. It was kinda painful for me to write this chapter, not only because I was writing out my favorite Digidestined from this fic, but because I wanted to write it in a way that would be unexpectedly shocking and emotional. I hope this fit the bill.

A little more memory exposition. Which were all true, kind of. Davis did pass out after getting drunk unintentionally at the senior prom. And if anyone wants to know... TK, Kari, and Davis went as a threesome. Because one of Kari's major flaws has always been her indecisiveness to pick between the two guys. And as a result, as we all know, she ended up getting married to someone else.

Speaking of that, we're introduced to Kari's child... Akio, which means 'bright boy.' Symbolic in that it ties in with Kari's moniker as the Digidestined of Light.

Lastly, I'm kinda frightened by how you'll all react to the cryptic way Kari departs. It's a set-up for future chapters, but me thinks some of you might think I went way too sci-fi for this one.

**Next Episode - Cutting Losses  
**The rest of the Digidestined learn about Kari's passing, but how will they take to the loss of such a dear friend? And she may not be the only one they'll say farewell to, as TK and Davis both fight for their own lives. Meanwhile, 'Blue' returns to HQ, but how will 'Red' react to the plan of eliminating the former love of his life?


	14. Cutting Losses

"The Circle of the Digidestined," written by Freedom Fighter 

Disclaimer: None of the characters, human or Digimon, belong to me, the writer.

Author's Warning: The following fanfic features gruesome character death, both of the human and Digimon kind, violence of varying levels, some profane language, and some suggestive situations. Please do not read this fanfic if you're underage or feel that you cannot handle any of said features.

This particular episode features use of some profanity.

* * *

Sora and Matt had arrived at Osaka General, about half an hour after having left the Digimon Research Lab on the other side of the city. With Sora holding a freshly bought bouquet of white carnations, the couple slowly trotted into the waiting area. It was there, amongst the other relatives of other victims of the Luciano's incident, that they saw Mimi sitting in a couple, reading 'Great Homekeepers' magazine. And with her was a brown-haired boy who seemed to love tugging at Mimi's nightgown.

The Ishidas walked over to greet them.

"Akio, could you please stop that?" Mimi asked without even looking.

"But Auntie Meems, I wanna go see my mommy!" Akio cried. "How come daddy didn't take me to see mommy?"

"Don't worry..." Matt cut in, to Mimi's delight. "We'll take you to see both of them!"

Akio rejoiced at the sight of Matt, leaving Mimi to go tug on Matt's pants.

"You really mean it, Unkie Buzz?"

"Unkie Buzz?" Sora snickered, laughing at the pet name Akio had given her husband.

"Yeah..." Matt chuckled, "when Kari taught Akio all about astronauts, the first one she taught him was Buzz Aldrin. For some reason, Akio thinks I look just like the guy, so he started calling me by that name."

"Awww... isn't that precious?"

Akio turned to Sora and smiled. "Oh... and you're Auntie Unkie Buzz's wife Sora, right? Funny... you look older than my mom, and she's pretty old."

Matt laughed out loud hilariously while Sora sweatdropped at the comment.

"Precocious little tyke, aren't you?" Sora stated through gritted teeth as Matt's chuckles were rewarded by the tossing of a magazine at his face, knocking him down to the ground.

"Apparently Kari didn't teach her kid modesty," Mimi commented, the magazine she was reading no longer in hand. "And here we thought Kari was perfect..."

Sora, Mimi, and even Matt, who picked himself up off the floor, engaged in a hearty laugh. One that Akio didn't quite understand. But the laughing faces of the trio quickly turned to sombering frowns.

"I can't believe she's gone," Sora said, shaking her head.

"She was such the perfect role model, too," admitted Mimi. "Even better than me."

"Tai must be devastated," stated Matt. "Ryo too."

The trio sighed, depressed, even though Akio was now rotating around, tugging at each of their clothes.

* * *

In a quite, spare room not far from the operating room, Ryo was sobbing quietly into the bed sheets as the lovely woman he had married lied peacefully before him, no longer of this world. Despite the way Kari had departed from life, her face showed that she had left the way she had entered.

With a bright, serene smile on her face.

**Episode Fourteen - Cutting Losses (06.14.05)**

"TK's where?" Matt angrily asked.

"He's in surgery!" Mimi told him and Sora. "I don't know what exactly happened... I just know he was unconscious when they wheeled him..."

Sora gasped. "We're not gonna lose him too, are we?"

"Don't say that!" Matt snapped, scaring Akio enough that he ran to hide behind Mimi. "TK's a fighter, he'll pull through!"

"Unlike Kari?" a voice came from afar.

The group looked down the hall and saw Tai walking toward them. And he didn't seem to be pleased with Matt's comment.

"Look Tai," Matt began, "I didn't mean..."

"The hell you didn't!" Tai yelled. "You're telling me Kari's weak? That she didn't fight for her own life?"

"I never said that!"

"Well, you sure implied it!"

"This isn't the place for that," Sora cut in. "Matt didn't mean it literally, Tai."

"Oh, so you're taking his side just because you're married to him?"

"This has nothing to do with being married to Matt!"

"You'd like me to believe that, wouldn't you?"

"Leave Sora out of this!" Matt butted in.

"She got into it herself!" Tai shot back. "She brought it upon herself!"

"Here's something else I brought with me," Sora shouted as she lunged at Tai.

Tai jumped back in fear, but Matt had managed to restrain Sora before she could hit the Digidestined leader. Still, the trio were at arms, yelling loudly at each other and drawing the ire of the others in the waiting room.

Including Mimi, who was tired of all the bickering and decided to end it by whistling loudly to get their attention.

"What is wrong with you guys?" Mimi asked, irate, then pointing to the nurses and everyone else in the area, who were glaring at the group. "You're in a hospital, filled with loved ones who are distraught over today's events and wondering if their fathers, mothers, significant others, children, and grandparents are okay! This is no time to get into silly arguments over who fought to save their own life!"

Tai, Sora, and Matt all lowered their heads, ashamed of their behavior.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to actually do something beneficial to our cause and visit the guy apparently all of you have forgotten about."

The trio looked at each other, not knowing who Mimi was talking about. After a minute, Tai decided to ask.

"Who are we forgetting now?"

"Davis, you idiot!" Mimi yelled loudly. "He's a person too, you know!"

Tai started picking at his ear, trying to get all of the ringing out. "Who's the one yelling now?"

Suddenly, the group was approached by the head nurse, who was very peeved with them.

"I'm going to ask you all to leave if you don't be quiet!"

"Sorry," Tai, Sora, Matt, and Mimi all apologized in unison.

"Does that mean... mmmph..."

The foursome had rushed to cover up Akio's mouth before he said something that really did get them kicked out. They all grinned nervously as the head nurse eyed them all, then walked off. Once she had left, the group breathed a sigh of relief.

"Scary..." Akio commented.

Mimi pulled Akio out from behind her and pushed him towards Matt. She then turned and walked towards a nearby hallway.

"I'm going to go check on Davis. Keep an eye on Akio while I'm gone!"

The foursome stared as Mimi disappeared from their sight. A thought then came to mind as they looked oddly at each other.

"Hey..." Matt wondered, "does Mimi know where Davis is right now?"

Tai shrugged his shoulders. "I don't think so. I didn't tell her."

"So that means..." Sora sighed.

"She's gonna get herself lost!" the three exclaimed simultaneously.

Akio giggled. "I love Auntie Meems when she's ditzy!"

* * *

Ryo was no longer crying, though his eyes were visibly red. Through his somewhat blurred vision he glanced at the five-karat wedding ring on his right index finger. He sniffled, as tried to prevent himself from bursting out in tears again.

"That wedding was the happiest day of my life," Ryo said to Kari's lifeless form. "Correction... of our lives."

Ryo then reached into his pocket to pull out his wallet, in which he kept several small photos of himself and Kari. He sought out one in particular... a photo of the couple and Tai at some sort of celebration. Ryo and Kari were flashing cheesy smiles, while Tai looked as if he was in a drunken stupor. Which he was.

"It was our first date, honey. Well... it wasn't really a 'date' date. I had just met you that night, and we kinda hit off after what happened that night..."

* * *

_Downtown Tokyo was filled with rambunctious rebels and yelling yahoos, all whooping it up and having a fun time on the streets surrounding Tokyo Tower. A banner hanging nearby said it all... 'First Night 2014.' It was December 31st, 2013, and anybody who was somebody was going to party all night long._

_Unfortunately for 23-year old Kari Kamiya, the party was anything but exciting for her, as she was stuck babysitting her brother Tai, who was three years her senior... and completely drunk and barely conscious._

_"It's 11:45!" Kari shouted, glancing at her wristwatch, then at Tai, who was swaying back and forth in front of her. "If you make me miss the countdown because you pass out, you are so gonna owe me for it!"_

_"Don't be sil... I can give ya... fireworks if you wanna do it..."_

_Kari groaned. "Okay, that's it! I'm making sure you sign up for Alcoholics Anonymous when you get back home to New York!"_

_Kari grabbed Tai's arm and started pulling him down the street towards her apartment, which was two blocks away from them._

_"I can't believe this..." Kari mumbled aloud. "I can't believe you're so drunk you're not even going to be awake enough to wish 2013 goodbye! I've never been so embarrassed in my entire life! At my age, having to keep you from killing yourself from drinking! I bet TK never has this problem with Matt! I swear I have the worst brother ever! And you'd better not puke all over the carpet, or my roommates will have your head!"_

_Kari then heard a loud truck horn beeping over and over again._

_"What is that noise?" Kari asked as she turned around._

_Apparently, during Kari's rant they had crossed a street, and sometime during that Tai had freed himself from Kari's grip, and he was now standing in the middle of the road. An eighteen-wheeler was barreling right towards Tai, and the driver was trying to use his horn to warn Tai to get out of the way. But Tai was way too out of it to even notice the danger he was in._

_"Oh my God... Tai, get out of there!"_

_Kari ran to help her brother, fully unaware that she wouldn't be able to make it in time. Luckily, fate was on Tai's side when, at the very last moment, someone reached in and pulled Tai back onto the sidewalk. The front of the eighteen-wheeler skidded by just inches away from Tai's dragging feet. The truck continued heading down the road, moving as if nothing had happened._

_Kari made her way across the street via the crosswalk, and breathed a sigh of relief that Tai hadn't been injured. She smiled as she reached out to thank his savior._

_"That was a close one," panted Kari. "Without you, my brother would probably be street pizza."_

_"No problem," replied the man. "I'm trained to do this all the time."_

_Kari looked the man up and down. His look was very simplistic... his clothing consisted of a white T-shirt with a giant red circle that looked spray painted on and red sweatpants. His hair was light brown, disheveled with shaggy tufts here and there, and covered by a red baseball cap._

_"Uh... are you giving me the once over?" he asked, catching Kari's wandering eyes._

_Kari blushed as she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Sorry... I'm not too trusting over stranger types."_

_"Fair enough. Say... we're right in front of my apartment building. What do you say we head inside?"_

_"Hey hey... I'm not that gullible!"_

_"Whatever are you talking about? I just want to give your brother here a safe place to recuperate. Besides, I'm sure my sister wouldn't mind giving him the once over. She's a pre-med student, and she could really use the practice."_

_Kari raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "She could use the practice?"_

_"Nah, I'm just kidding. She's been wanting to be a doctor ever since she was six. I'm sure she's capable of healing your drunk brother here. Plus, the rooftop has a great view of Tokyo Tower... you can see the fireworks from there!"_

_"Oh, alright. What could it hurt? It's only going to be an hour or two, right?"_

* * *

_"Give me a break!" exclaimed the purple-haired young woman who greeted them upon entering the apartment. "You know I can't work on patients at home... it goes against all regulations! Besides, I asked you to pick up a pack of cigarettes for me, not two strangers!"_

_Kari stepped forward and bowed before the woman. "I apologize for the intrusion, but your brother offered me a place to wait while my brother Tai recovered from all of the drinking he's done tonight."_

_"So this man here is your brother? Looks pretty wasted..."_

_Kari chuckled nervously. "The thing with Tai is that he's pretty wild at parties. One shot, three shots, six shots... it makes me worry how he ever gets home back in the States on weekends."_

_"Tee hee... Ryo here can be the same way too, when he really wants to."_

_"Rin!" Ryo, who was 24 years old at the time, exclaimed._

_"So your name's Ryo, huh?" Kari smirked._

_"You mean you didn't introduce yourself to her?" Rin asked quizzingly. "I'd think since you have most of dad's genes that you'd be a natural at scoring chicks, but..."_

_Ryo blushed. "It's not like that! I just saved her brother from being run over by a semi in the street! He looked pretty out of it, and the driver didn't look as if he was going to stop..."_

_Rin nodded slyly. "Uh huh, sure. Use whatever excuse you want to dignify picking this gal up."_

_"He's telling the truth!" Kari said, speaking up to defend Ryo._

_"I know."_

_Kari blinked, confused. "Huh? You did?"_

_She then turned to see the embarrassed face of Ryo, then back to his sister Rin, who was laughing up a storm._

_"I'm sorry about that. I just like to tease my little brother to death!"_

_"You didn't have to do in it front of a stranger..." mumbled Ryo._

_"Well, I guess," Kari replied in acceptance. "Still, it's not very nice."_

_"Oh, we're not harming anyone," Rin said. "We like to joke with each other lot. It runs in the family. Trust me... I tease him about girls, he teases me about being afraid of making a mistake in surgery... but at the end of the day, we still love each other."_

_"Cute."_

_"By the way... I see Ryo didn't ask your name either, since he's not gushing over you like he does with all of the other girls he brings in here."_

_"Come on, I don't gush over every girl I bring home!" defended Ryo._

_"My name's Kari. Kari Kamiya. And the guy now passed out on your sofa... that'sTai, my older brother. We were both born in the Odaiba district, but he's here on vacation for the holiday. He lives over in America..."_

_"Chill," Rin cut in, stopping Kari. "You don't have to tell me your life story. I'm sure you already feel uncomfortable as it is."_

_"Uh... okay."_

_Rin turned towards her brother, who was at work getting Tai's entire body onto the couch, as his legs were hanging off the side._

_"Why don't you take Kari here to the roof to watch the fireworks? You know our TV's busted and we don't exactly have a great view from our windows. Besides... you look like you want some time alone with her."_

_"It's not like that, sis!" Ryo blushed again._

_"Oh, and Kari... don't be afraid to push him off the building if he goes too fast for you, okay?"_

_Kari sweatdropped as Ryo shook his head in disbelief in the background. "Um... I'll keep that in mind."_

_"I'll be right up after I check to make sure Kari's brother here doesn't need to be taken to the hospital! Okay?"_

* * *

_Two minutes later, Ryo was pushing open the only stairwell door with access to the rooftop. He held it open for Kari, who gasped in amazement at the clear, unobstructed view of Tokyo Tower they had, with its lights twinkling in anticipation for the start of the new year._

_"This is amazing!" Kari said as she walked over towards the rooftop's edge._

_"Yeah... Rin and I got lucky when we moved in last year. I'm surprised no one in the building comes out here to see the tower. Guess they don't think it's just as majestic if they're not there in person."_

_Kari then started laughing wildly for some odd reason, and Ryo developed a painful look on his face._

_"What's so funny?" he asked._

_Kari smiled as she turned to look at Ryo. "Your sister's treatment of you and girls reminds me of what Tai used to do for me a few years ago?"_

_"Really?"_

_"Uh huh... he was in New York, going to college. I was here, trying to get through high school. Every day he'd e-mail me, asking me if I was looking for guys. If they were looking for me. If I'd been on dates, if I had a steady boyfriend, if I was sleeping with anyone."_

_"He pushed you that much?"_

_"Yeah... heh heh. He maybe have been overzealous on wanting to know when some lucky guy had 'scored' with me so he could meet him and beat the living snot out of him! Yep... my brother's hard to read sometimes."_

_Kari turned around to look at Ryo, but was surprised that he was slowly stepping back into the darkness. She then realized what she had been saying, and quickly moved to apologize._

_"I'm sorry... I don't know what came over me. I guess your sister made an impression on me... I'm usually not this open about talking about my... personal life."_

_"She can be like that sometimes," Ryo said, calming down and moving over towards Kari._

_"I can't believe this..." Kari shook her head. "You probably think I'm a bad girl, or a desperate girl, or some odd combination of both!"_

_"No big, Kari. I'm 24, and I'm still single!"_

_Kari raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "I wouldn't be going around spouting that if I were you. Believe it or not, most teens consider people our age old._

_"Our age?"_

_"I'm 23."_

_"Really! You don't look a day over 15!"_

_Kari frowned. "Uh, Ryo... I'm not the type that adores flattery..."_

_"I'm serious! You could pass for a high schooler, easy!"_

_"Well..." Kari admitted, caving in a little, "my friend Sora has always been worried that I'd look too young to be a teacher."_

_"So... you want to be a teacher?"_

_"Yep! I have a fondness for first graders. What about you?"_

_"Um... a traffic cop."_

_"A traffic cop?"_

_"Yeah... it's a family tradition. My dad and all four of his brothers were traffic cops, and so was their father and his brother."_

_"But you sound as if you don't enjoy it."_

_Ryo sighed. "It's boring. I'd rather be an accountant."_

_"So you're into money, huh?"_

_"Not so much. I'm in it for the math. I love math."_

_"Sure... that's what they all say!"_

_"I'm serious!" Ryo exclaimed as Kari giggled._

_"Well... I see you two are hitting it off."_

_Ryo and Kari turned towards the door and saw Rin standing there with a digital camera in one hand and Tai, still unconscious, draped over the back of her neck. As Rin cautiously stepped into the light, Ryo ran over to help his older sister._

_"It's not what you think. And why'd you bring him up here?"_

_"Oh, I know 'love at first sight' when I see it. And you two were gazing longingly at each other."_

_"Really..." Kari said, coming over as well. "I don't go for that whole 'love at first sight' thing."_

_"Don't knock it until you've tried it," Rin said. "You may have that feeling ten times, and nine out of ten times it doesn't work out. But there's always that possibility of finding that one person that IS the one!"_

_The trio laid Tai down near the air conditioning unit, where he had a good shot of the fireworks should he come out of his drunken stupor._

_"So, now that you two have broken the ice, I guess we should get to the nitty gritty. Should I start with my brother's bad habits, Kari?"_

_"You don't know when to quit!" Ryo shouted._

_"Hey... I'm doing this for your benefit!"_

_"I can pick up girls without your help."_

_"So you ARE trying to hook up with Kari here, aren't you?"_

_"I told you, it's not like that!"_

_"Stop kidding yourself... we all knew it had to happen eventually!"_

_Kari stepped in as she had noticed some activity at Tokyo Tower. "I think the countdown's about to begin!"_

_Ryo and Rin stopped their playful argument and joined Kari at the rooftop's edge, as they along with the citizens counted down the final seconds of 2013._

_"Five... four... three... two... one... Happy New Year!" the trio screamed in unison as fireworks started going off in the night sky._

_The two siblings reached over to each other for a hug. Ryo then turned towards Kari as if he were about to do the same, but he suddenly froze. Kari twiddled her thumbs nervously... she wasn't comfortable at what was developing at that moment._

_Suddenly, Rin pushed Ryo in the back, and right into Kari. In the process, Ryo had wrapped his arms around Kari's waist, leaving the couple in very close company. They both blushed as Ryo moved to speak first._

_"Um... Happy New Year, Kari?"_

_"Yeah... Happy New Year... Ryo."_

_The two just stared into each other's eyes for a minute, as the fireworks continued blasting away in the background. But their trances were broken by a flash of light... from Rin's digital camera._

_"Man, you're a wuss!" Rin smiled as she lowered her camera from her face. "If I were you, I would've kissed her by now!"_

_"You know I don't like to take advantage of people!" Ryo exclaimed._

_Rin smirked as she waved her camera in Ryo's face. "I'm sure after this film gets developed, you wished you did!"_

_Ryo growled as he reached to snatch the camera away. Rin pulled it away and started running around the roof, giggling as her little brother gave chase. Kari couldn't help but laugh as the two adults ran around and around as if they were still mere children._

_Kari then glanced over at her 'lifeless' brother and suddenly got an idea._

_"Hey... guys!" she yelled._

_Rin and Ryo stopped for a moment, hearing Kari's call._

_"Since we're having so much fun and we'll probably never see each other again after tonight, I think we need to get my brother into the fun."_

_The siblings looked at each other, not sure what Kari meant by that remark._

* * *

_"I can't believe we're doing this..." Ryo said in disbelief._

_"Come on!" Kari smiled. "Isn't it fun to live a little for once?"_

_"Okay..." Rin said, holding up her camera to take another picture. "Are we ready?"_

_"Yep!"_

_Rin twirled the lens into focus, as Kari and Ryo flashed cheesy, plastered smiles, and they each had one of Tai's arms draped around the back of their necks so that they could hold Tai's unmoving form in frame._

_"Say Happy New Year!" Rin shouted._

_"Happy New..." Kari and Ryo began, before Rin snapped the photo in mid-sentence.

* * *

_

Back to present day, as Ryo was holding that very photo in his hand. He sighed as he once again glanced over at his departed wife, Kari.

"The funny thing is, we did see each other again. Just a few days later, in fact. We hit it off from there. We dated for five months before I decided to propose. I remember the look on your brother's face... he was flabbergasted that you were engaged before he was! And you know... he never did give me that beating for that.

"Heh... Kari, dear. Do you know that you made me the happiest man on Earth the past 13 years! I can't imagine living without you. Akio can't. I know your students can't either. Or the other Digidestined. I don't... I don't know how we'll all survive without you. You were the sunshine on a cloudy day! The flashlight in a dark alley! The one that always looked on the bright side and always brought out the best in everyone around you."

He leant over and gave Kari a quick peck on the forehead. He then sunk his head back into the sheets and started to sob again.

The love of his life had been taken away from him. Kari was the perfect angel, and he was saddened by the fact that someone was jealous enough of her to take her life.

* * *

Meanwhile, at a secluded location somewhere in the real world, the screen of a computer flashed a bright white, signaling that someone was attempting to entry by way of a Digiport. Honda, or 'Red,' awaited the emergence of 'Blue' from the portal. And just after a few seconds, he did come out.

"Ah..." Blue remarked, "glad to see someone in this organization is glad to welcome me back!"

"I'm not welcoming you back," grumbled Red.

"Eh, whatever. I don't care about you anyway."

"The issue isn't you and me. It's about you and what you just did!"

Blue smiled. "You're admiring my work? Well... that's a nice change of pace."

Red grabbed Blue by the collar and growled at him face-to-face.

"You killed her!"

Blue looked away. "I have no idea who you're talking about..."

Red screamed angrily, then ran Blue right into the nearest wall.

"You killed Kari! The Digidestined of Light!"

"What are you bugging about? You know it would come to this after all. They're all way too much of a nuisance to leave alive!"

"Jindra promised me that we wouldn't get rid of Kari if we didn't have to! So why did you go back on that order!"

"Because I was ordered to do so! The boss thought your feelings for that bitch were coming back! And we couldn't have that, now could we?"

Red pulled Blue away from the wall and then quickly shoved him back into it.

"Son of a bitch!" yelled Blue, just before Red got in his face again.

"I'll get you for killing her!"

"Look... that whore wasn't worth your time! But, if you still have those hippy-dippy feelings for her and felt that what I did was fucking wrong... then take it up with the boss! I'm just following orders!"

Red pulled Blue in close enough that their foreheads were now touching.

"You can bet on that!"

Red pushed Blue into the wall one more time, this time releasing his grip on Blue's shirt and walking out of the room. Blue sneered as he got up from the floor and fixed his clothes. He then proceed to glare at Red's back as he departed.

"You'll get yours," Blue thought to himself. "Oh yeah... you'll get yours soon enough!"

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Well, originally the story of how Ryo and Kari met was supposed to happen in Episode 12, but I felt it wouldn't fit after all of the changes that were made to the 'important scenes.' That, and considering how I ran away with it in this episode, I'm kinda glad I saved it an additional two weeks, because I really didn't want to cut anything out.

Oh, and readers of "The Detectives Kamiya" will notice my reference to it in regards to Tai wanting his sister Kari to get a boyfriend. But unlike in that fanfic, Tai's desire to see Kari sleep with someone is a bit more subtle... plus here, Tai cared more of making sure only the right person did the job. That was done to break out the protective sibling role in him.

You know... I just noticed that a good number of the Digidestined families have yet to be introduced in full. I think it's time we corrected that situation, starting with...

**Next Episode - Consequences  
**Honda (Red) confronts Jindra (White) about the plan to take out Kari. Will Red agree that Kari's death was necessary, or will a reprise of feelings cause him to make a decision he'll regret. Meanwhile, if the restaurant incident didn't kill Davis, his wife Dora might just... but why? And Izzy faces the music... in more ways than one!


	15. Consequences

"The Circle of the Digidestined," written by Freedom Fighter 

Disclaimer: None of the characters, human or Digimon, belong to me, the writer.

Author's Warning: The following fanfic features gruesome character death, both of the human and Digimon kind, violence of varying levels, some profane language, and some suggestive situations. Please do not read this fanfic if you're underage or feel that you cannot handle any of said features.

* * *

The waiting room at Osaka General was thinning out as more and more of the victims' relatives were told news of the condition of their loved ones. Many had reacted with tears. Some were for joy. Others, for dejection and disbelief. A lot of lives had changed direction today, but for some, which direction and to what extent were still to be determined.

Among those whose fate had not yet been announced... TK Takashi, last known to still be in surgery for internal bleeding and injuries to his shoulder and his legs.

Tai, Sora, and Matt were among the small group still waiting for news. Unfortunately, it was not to be as they saw the head nurse emerge from the desk room. Sora took one glance out the window panes and noticed that the sun was setting over the horizon.

"May I have your attention, please!" she spoke up. "At this time, it is 20:00, and visiting hours are over. I'd like to ask that you all please leave the hospital grounds at this time. However, if you are waiting on an emergency room patient, I ask that you register here at the front desk for a special overnight permit. This is limited to two people per victim, and immediate family members only, please."

As the few remaining families tried to decide who would remain behind, the Digidestined were unanimous in their decision.

"It's gotta be me," Matt said.

"You're gonna stay here all by yourself?" Sora asked.

Matt shook his head. "No. I called Karone a little while ago, and she said she was already at the airport awaiting a flight here from Tokyo."

"She's not gonna be here for an hour or two?"

"Couldn't she have just Digiported here?" Tai wondered.

"No. She's afraid of getting hurt going through the Digiworld, especially with what's gone on today."

Sora leaned towards her husband and gave him a kiss on the lips. Tai rolled his eyes as he started heading towards the door.

"You be careful," Sora warned.

"You too," agreed Matt. "And I'll call you the moment TK gets out of surgery."

Sora peeked around Matt and saw that Mimi was walking towards them.

"About time!" Tai shouted. "Find Davis' room alright?"

Mimi glared at him. "I'd watch your tongue if I were you, Tai Kamiya!"

"Come on, you two," Sora said as she grabbed Tai with one hand and Mimi with the other. "Can we make it back to the lab without you two arguing for once?"

Matt waved farewell to his friends as the trio walked out of the hospital and into the parking lot, which was already being illuminated by lampposts.

**Episode Fifteen - Consequences (07.13.05)**

A score of classical piano music played from the intercom system as Jindra, known as 'White' for this operation, leaned back in his rocking chair. The chair he used time and time again whenever he wanted to kick back and relax. He was also smoking a tobacco pipe and he took puffs from it as he read the daily newspaper.

He was currently residing in the den of his mansion, which came complete with a pool table, a bar, a fireplace, a bearskin rug on the floor, and assorted paintings of polar bears decorating the room's four walls.

But his peaceful moment of relaxation was about to be interrupted, as 'Red' (Honda) bursted into the room, nearly knocking the room's wooden doors off of their hinges. Jindra calmly folded his newspaper up and placed it on his desk, even as Red stomped angrily towards him.

"Let me guess... Blue's mission was successful. The target's been eliminated, right?"

"You promised..." Honda began. "YOU PROMISED!"

Honda reached to grab Jindra, but he just calmly sidestepped out of the way. Jindra quickly followed up with a counter, using all of his strength to lift Honda off of his feet and flip him over so that he could slam Honda's back on the top of the desk.

"Aarrgh!" Honda screamed out of pain.

Jindra then pulled a small Swiss Army knife out of his pocket and quickly snapped the blade out to place it against Honda's neck. Honda found himself trapped, unable to do anything without endangering his life.

"You have to understand what we're doing here, Honda. This is world domination. Domination of both the human world and the Digital World. There are bound to be sacrifices in such a long and prolonged war for control."

"But you promised me you wouldn't hurt her!"

"The Digidestined of Light? After all of these years, after both of you had already moved on and gotten married to other people... you still harbor feelings for her?"

"So what if I did? The deal is that you promised me that Kari wouldn't get hurt! And then... and then... AND THEN YOU WENT AND ORDERED MITCHELL TO KILL HER!"

Jindra smacked Honda across the face with his free hand.

"The part of your life when you were smitten with that woman ended years ago! I ordered Blue to kill her because I believed that you would've been distracted by seeing her again. By gazing upon her smiling face, she could've turned you against us! I couldn't allow our plan to be derailed, especially since we now know the strength of the Digidestined and their partners."

"That wouldn't have happened. You didn't know Kari like I did. I could've convinced her that what we were doing was just and that we weren't out to hurt anybody!"

"And WHAT kind of argument would you have made to defend our case? Your theory of explanation lacks logic. After all, we were beforehand already responsible for the fall of one of their own. And I'm pretty sure they know it was no accident. Your attempts to change her onto our views would have failed."

"Kari was a kind and honest person. She would've been welcome to explore the possibilities..."

Jindra responded this time by punching Honda in the jaw. Instantly, blood began to poor out of the right side of Honda's mouth, with the man quivering in pain. But as he tried to ignore it, he noticed Jindra's face had not changed one bit. He still had that blank, yet brooding look spread across his face.

"Thirteen years. Thirteen years after the fact, and there's still a part of you that believes. Believes that there's still sparks between the two of you. Wake up... it's time to get back to reality, jack. She married someone else. You had your own wedding. It was over. And it still is."

Honda began to cry, rubbing his sore jaw as he felt that at least one of his teeth had been knocked out.

"Get with the program... stop living in the past!"

"But... but I'm not..."

"I said stop it! You and the Digidestined of Light were never meant to be! And no amount of dreaming and wishing will change that. Especially now..."

Jindra finally withdrew his Swiss Army knife and put it back into his pocket. He then pointed towards the room's exit, still with that stern look on his face.

"Go clean yourself up, and then go home and get some rest! I want your mind clear of all of this nonsense before we proceed with the next stage of our master plan!"

Honda nodded, then slowly waddled out, his right hand still clutching his jaw, which a few droplets of blood escaped from, falling onto the carpet.

Once Honda was gone, Jindra knelt down and picked up the fallen tooth from where it had landed... his bearskin rug. As he looked it over, he glanced once more at the doorway where Honda had departed through. He then flashed a toothy, evil smile as he tossed the loose tooth in the trash can, then headed back to his chair so he could finish reading the daily newspaper.

* * *

Back at Osaka General, Matt was browsing through a magazine... but he was too busy thinking about his younger brother TK to actually read any of the articles. He sighed heavily as he glanced at the handful of other relatives of victims that had stayed around to await news of their loved ones.

"Man..." Matt thought to himself, "Never thought I'd be spending the night in a hospital. The space station is more livelier than this place!"

Matt then turned towards the door... and nearly did a double take when he saw Dora Motimiya emerge from a taxi cab and enter the hospital waiting room. Immediately Matt lifted the magazine up so he could cover his face. But Dora had already spotted him, as she walked over and ripped the periodical from his hands.

"Where is he?" Dora asked, in a simmered, yet surprisingly controlled temper.

"I'm not sure... you need to ask one of the nurses..."

* * *

"Mmmm..." Davis murmured as he slurped some noodles from his bowl.

Davis was sitting up in his bed, watching some program on TV as he gobbled down a bowl of hot ramen that was sitting in his lap. His forehead was wrapped with bandages, and he had been cleaned up considerably after all of the blood he had gotten onto him helping to protect TK. But he seemed to be preoccupied. Not just by the TV or by the food in front of him. But by the news that Mimi had broken to him earlier...

* * *

_"No... no, it can't be!" Davis said, sobbing loudly._

_"She's gone!" Mimi cried. "Kari's gone, Davis!"_

_"Why? Why? Why couldn't it have been me? Why did those guys take her life? WHY?"_

* * *

Davis placed his bowl onto the table beside his bed. He then spotted a small photograph there and wincingly picked it up, for his arms and legs were still sore. The picture was the one he had taken with Kari 13 years ago, at the 15th Anniversary of the original Digidestined's discovery of the Digital World. The one with Kari decked out in a beautiful peach-colored gown. The one in which, for at least that one brief moment in time, the two of them were linked together as a couple.

"Even though I didn't win your heart, Kari, you're still be number one in mine!"

"Ahem..." coughed a familiar voice.

Davis looked up and began to shake in fear when he saw his wife Dora standing at the door. And she didn't look happy to see him.

"What was that, Davis?"

"She called me by my first name..." he thought. "Not good..."

"I was worried sick about you and here I am, finding you bedridden and thinking of another woman. Well, I'll show you..."

"Honey... it's not what you think!"

Dora leapt into the bed and started to bend Davis in all sorts of weird and unnatural ways. The man screamed in horror as he was too weak to fight back, though a small part of him wasn't still unaware why he was being beaten in the first place...

* * *

"I'm glad to see you're alright, honey," a blonde-haired man sighed in relief, speaking via videophone.

Mimi stretched her arms, yawning in response. "I never liked pulling all-nighters. Did you call the studio and tell them I'll be running a little late?"

"Yeah... but how come you didn't tell me what was happening, shnookums? I could've helped. You know the American Digidestined are ready to lend a hand at a moment's notice."

"I know Michael, but... when I left, I wasn't expecting anything like this!"

As Mimi chatted with her husband from the comfort of the Communications Room at the Digimon Research Laboratory, Tai and Sora were in the midst of their own conversation at the other end of the room.

"Boy... the guys down at the UN must be worried sick about me! It's already six thirty in the morning in New York... I have to be there at seven!"

"I'm sure they'll understand," reassured Sora.

"And I never finished my research work! Aw man... they were depending on me too!"

"Now now... East Antarctica won't declare war on the whole world because one person couldn't prove it wasn't worth it."

"I guess you're right."

Tai reached for his D-3 and aimed it at a nearby computer. The portal, already set to the coordinates of the computer in his hotel room, opened before the duo.

"Are you sure you want to go there, especially so soon after Kari..."

Before Sora could finish, Tai raised a finger and placed it over her mouth to hush her.

"I'm angry at those jerks for taking my sister away from me... but if I just mope around all day, then they would've succeeded in striking fear into my heart! Kari would've wanted me to go do my job, and that's what I'm gonna do!

Sora gazed longingly, and worriedly, at Tai.

"Be careful."

After a brief moment of silence, save Mimi's chatter in the background, Tai replied.

"You too."

They both leaned in as if they were going to kiss each other on the lips, but then both of their heads turned at the last moment... they settled on a comforting hug instead.

"The moment TK gets out of surgery, let me know. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Sora waved farewell as Tai allowed himself to be sucked into the portal. She then turned to give an equal gesture to Mimi, but was surprised to see another portal in front of the computer Mimi had been using... and it was already closing. Sora wondered why Mimi left without saying goodbye, but she didn't feel like pursuing her in an answer.

* * *

After shutting down the two computers, Sora headed down towards the bunker to check on her two children. But upon arrival, she noticed that it was a whole lot more crowded than when she had left it. In addition to all of the Digimon and family members of the civilian staff, Sora noticed that there were some new faces that she hadn't see in awhile.

She saw her kids, Michelle and Sam, hanging out with Izzy's girl, Chiharu. Kari's spouse Ryo and their child Akio were there as well, but the latter was fast asleep. And Sora noticed June off to the side, comforting Jean and John, Joe's widow and son. Catherine was standing by the door, and greeted Sora upon her return.

"Ryo, he told us everything. I'm so sorry about Kari."

"It's not your fault, Catherine. There's nothing any of us could've done."

"So... what about Davis? And TK?"

Sora sighed. "Davis needed stitches in his forehead, but otherwise he's just sore all over. They're keeping him overnight for observation. As for TK... well, I'm not sure. He was still in surgery when we all left."

"Oh my... I hope he'll be alright."

"I hope so too."

"Help... help!" screamed a screechy voice from the hallway.

Sora turned around to see Biyomon running towards her. Catherine and a few of the other people in the bunker joined Sora by the door to see what all the hubbub was about.

"Biyomon? What's wrong?"

"We need blankets! And lots of them! Hurry!"

Everyone glanced at each other oddly, then went to work in obliging the bird Digimon's request.

* * *

Taking all of the spare blankets not being used in the bunker, Sora, Catherine, and Ryo followed Biyomon back to the Main Laboratory Room, where Yoshi and many of the other workers were running all of the place. It seems they were anticipating an arrival of sorts, as the Digiport generator was up and running.

"An intruder?" Catherine wondered. "Maybe for real this time?"

Biyomon shook her head. "Nope. It's Ken's group."

The trio gasped in unison.

"You mean Ken Ichijouji?" asked Ryo. "The famous detective?"

"Yep," answered Sora. She then turned towards her Digimon. "Then that means they're still in the Southern Quadrant, doesn't it?"

"They've been stranded there for a couple hours," Yoshi spoke up, popping into the conversation without turning away from his console. "A blizzard has prevented communication between us and them, so they've had to take cover in a tent until the storm cleared."

"Are they alright?"

"We're not sure. Ken sent a transmission a few minutes ago stating they were very cold. And that Yolei was starting to look blue in the face... as if she was developing hypothermia."

Sora grew a serious look on her face. "Someone's gonna have to go in and get them, right?"

Yoshi nodded.

"Then Biyomon and I will go. We'll bring them back."

"You're going to need help," Ryo spoke up. "I'd like to come along with you."

Sora looked at Kari's husband with a bit of worry on her face.

"I know you wanna help, but..."

"Trust me, Sora. Yes, Kari's gone... but she'd want me to continue what she started. To be the beacon of light to guide people to safety. Because she wouldn't want anyone else to suffer after everything that's happened today."

Sora quickly nodded in agreement. She then turned to Yoshi and motioned for him to open the portal.

"Already, everybody stand by!" Yoshi yelled. "Initiating Digiport open sequence! Coordinates set for Sector 0.00 of the Digiworld's Southern Quadrant!"

A brief flash of light blinded the room, but quickly dissipated as the portal entrance became visible. Wasting no time, Ryo, Sora, and Biyomon leaped in. As soon as they were gone, Yoshi turned towards Catherine, whose presence had been lost among all of the chaos.

"Catherine's your name, right?"

Catherine cautiously nodded, wondering if she's was about to be assigned to back out into the field again.

"Could you go and get Izzy? He'll surely want to see what Ken's team found."

"Yes... of course."

She quickly left the room, beginning her search for the missing researcher.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Osaka General, Matt had dozed off while waiting for TK's wife Karone to show up. What he didn't expect was to get a rude awakening from Dora, Davis' wife.

And she had an unfamiliar smile on her face.

"Gah!" Matt jumped in surprise. "You sure sneak up on people."

"I'm going home," Dora told Matt, patting him on the shoulder. "I'm sure TK will pull through."

Matt then watched as Dora strangely skipped out of the hospital.

"Hmmm... wonder why's she in such a good mood."

* * *

Davis was tangled up in his bedsheets, with one of his legs bound to the bedpost, and a bucket half full of water resting on top of his spiky head.

"Um... nurse! A little help?"

* * *

Catherine was making her way through the tricky, intricate hallways of the Research Lab, but had managed to find her way to the Briefing Room. But she was surprised when she saw about a half dozen Japanese police officers around the entrance.

"Alright, bring him out!" one of the officers ordered. "We haven't got all night."

She watched silently as two more officers emerged from the room, leading out Izzy, who had been restrained with handcuffs.

"What are you doing?" Catherine shouted out loud. "You'd dare arrest an innocent citizen, much less the one leading the team trying to save both our world and the Digital World?"

"Who's this?" a second officer wondered. "A foreigner who doesn't know her place?"

"I may not be Japanese, but I know the difference between right and wrong! And what you officers of the law are doing is definitely wrong."

"Really?" the first officer smirked. "Tell that to this usurper of the Japanese government!"

"The what?"

"Catherine..." Izzy spoke up, noticing her presence for the first time. "Stand down. Let them do their job."

"But why? What they are spouting falsely must surely not be true, right?"

Izzy was about to respond, but then decided lowering his head in shame would put the point across much better.

"You mean..."

"Izzy Izumi," the first officer said, reading from a scroll he had pulled out of his pocket. "You are under arrest for three counts of first-degree murder and for being an accomplice to the group conspiring to overthrow the government."

Catherine gasped as she unwillingly watched the officers take Izzy away.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Not much to chat about... we do get to see Michael, Mimi's wife, for the first time. Karone, TK's wife, is introduced as well, though we won't see her actually appear until next week's episode. Joe's son John also makes his first appearance too.

If anyone's wondering, still yet to be introduced are Ken and Yolei's three kids, Cody's daughter, Davis' son, TK's boy, Tai's son, and Mimi's boy. As well as Cody's and Izzy's wives. Boy... still a lot to go.

**Next Episode - End of the World Syndrome  
**The Digidestined's luck has hit rock bottom. Joe and Kari are dead, TK and Davis are still in the hospital (with Ken, Yolei, and Cody possibly joining them), and Izzy's been accused of treason! Just what more can go wrong? Well... if I told you now,  
what reason would you have to read the next episode, huh?


	16. End of the World Syndrome

"The Circle of the Digidestined," written by Freedom Fighter 

Disclaimer: None of the characters, human or Digimon, belong to me, the writer.

Author's Warning: The following fanfic features gruesome character death, both of the human and Digimon kind, violence of varying levels, some profane language, and some suggestive situations. Please do not read this fanfic if you're underage or feel that you cannot handle any of said features.

* * *

Digital World - Western Quadrant, Sector 1.50

A densely populated area of the desert was under lockdown as both human and Digimon law officials surrounded the gates of the city of Aria. The faces of the many citizens and tourists of the popular Digiworld attraction were those of fear and worry. The news of the wild Digimon attacks have spread long throughout the day, and many worried of how likely their homes were to be the next to be destroyed.

Yet at the same time, there wasn't much of a move for escape. The police had sealed off all Digiports in Sector 1 thanks to the receipt of a threatening e-mail from the villains in charge, fearing a massive panic would make the city a more inviting target. That didn't mean that everyone in Aria felt safe because of it.

"You can't keep us trapped in here forever!" a man yelled over the crowd.

"We have rights, you know!" a Tapirmon added.

"For your own safety, I must insist you all stay put!" ordered one of the officers.

As the officer continued his attempts to calm down the crowd, nearby a man was hard at work filing a report with his team leader. A very special man, though, for he was one of the American Digidestined, Phil. And through the use of his D-3, he was chatting with Michael, who was communicating from home.

"So far, so good," the Digidestined's lone African-American. "We've managed to keep things under control, but God knows for how much longer."

"With most of the major cities like New York blocking off entrance to the city via the Digiworld, there aren't many places the people can flee to. The populace of Aria is better off staying put."

"Alright... but I hope the travel restrictions are lifted soon. I'm sure it won't be long before panic really starts to settle in."

Michael nodded. "Keep me posted."

With that, Michael signed off.

"Man..." Sam sighed, scratching his head. "I hope the other American Digidestined aren't having as much trouble as I am."

* * *

Michael got up from his seat in front of his computer and headed for the hallway. As he entered it, he was met by Jerry, the only person who knew beforehand of Mimi's recent trip to the Digiworld.

"Do you happen to know where..."

"Madam Mimi, I presume? Well... she just left."

Michael did a double take. "Left? Left where?"

"She said she was heading to work."

"Doesn't she realize the critical situation we're in? Not to mention that she's been up all night! It's dangerous to be out there in her condition!"

Michael made a bolt for his closet, off to change out of his nightrobe and something more fitting for outdoor wear.

"I'll warm up the other car, sir," anticipated Jerry as he walked off.

**Episode Sixteen - End of the World Syndrome (07.25.05)**

Southern Quadrant, Sector 0.00

A Digiport opens atop a plain topped with freshly fallen snow. Out of it step Sora, Biyomon, and Ryo, who all immediately feel the sudden change of temperature after being in the warm recesses of a laboratory building.

"It's so cold," Biyomon stated matter-of-factly.

"We've got move quickly," Sora said, peering up at the clouds that circled the area. "The blizzard that pinned them down might start up again any minute!"

"There's a tent pitched up over there!" Ryo yelled, pointing to a spot about 100 meters away.

Sora and Biyomon nodded as they then followed Ryo over, sloshing through the snow. As they moved ever closer, they saw the tent flap lift up. A second or two later, Ken stepped out of the tent, rubbing his hands together repeatedly to try and keep them warm.

"Sora? Is that you?" Ken asked out loud, trying to peer around Ryo, whom he wasn't all that familiar with.

"Someone call for a trip out of this popsicle stand?" quipped Sora.

"It's time to get you all out of here!" Biyomon exclaimed.

"Start with Cody and my wife," Ken told the Digidestined of Love. "They're very close to getting hypothermia!"

Ken lifted the flap, allowing Sora to peer inside. She saw that Yolei, Cody, Wormmon, Hawkmon, and Armadillomon were all huddling together, doing their best to use their own body heat to try and stay warm. But Cody was already sneezing like crazy, and Yolei's face was already starting to turn blue.

"Yolei's in the worst condition. We'd better get her out first."

As Sora went in to get Yolei on her feet and guide her out of the tent, Ken turned towards Ryo and began to question him.

"Who are you, by the way?"

"Ryo. Ryo Yoshinaga."

Ken thought for a minute before the name finally registered in his mind.

"Yoshinaga? You mean the guy Kari married, right?"

Ryo lowered his head, solemnly.

"What? You mean you two aren't married anymore?"

"Ken!" snapped Sora, pulling a partially conscious Yolei out with one of the blankets wrapped around her body.

"I'm sorry if it's a sensitive subject... I didn't know!"

Ryo tried to gather up the courage to explain the truth, but Sora jumped in before he did.

"Kari's... Kari's dead, Ken."

Ken's mouth dropped in shock. So did the ones of Cody and all the other Digimon in the tent, as they peered out after overhearing the news.

"You mean..." Wormmon began.

"She's really..." Hawkmon stated.

"She bought the farm?" asked Armadillomon.

"That's not a nice thing too... AH-CHOO... say," sneezed Cody, covering his mouth to catch the germs.

"But you say it all the..." before Cody covered Armadillomon's mouth... with the hands he just sneezed on.

"I... I can't believe it," Ken muttered. "Kari, of all people? They took Kari's life, out of all of ours?"

Ken was about to burst out in angry rage, but suddenly the wind picked up again and the snow on the ground was beginning to drift off the ground and float all about them.

"We'll give you the full details back at the lab!" Sora exclaimed while simultaneously motioning for one of the guys to come over and help her with Yolei... which Ken did in an instant.

"I can... AH-CHOO... make it to the portal myself," Cody muttered as Ryo walked towards him.

"I guess I'll help the Digimon then," Ryo said as he reached down to put Wormmon on his shoulder.

"Can you fly?" Biyomon asked Hawkmon. "Or at least hover above the ground?"

"That, I can do," Hawkmon noted as he flapped his wings to get some warmth back into them.

"That means you got carry me, stranger," Armadillomon noted, having since wiped his partner's snot off of his mouth.

Ryo sighed as he knelt down and picked Armadillomon off the ground. Which wasn't an easy task, considering his weight.

"Boy... someone eats well," Ryo commented with a grunt.

Ryo glanced ahead and saw that Ken and Sora were leading the way, carrying Yolei towards the Digiport. As the others moved to catch up with them, Ryo kept his eyes focused squarely on the resident detective.

* * *

Yoshi and the other technicians waited for what seemed like hours before they heard a voice trying to communicate with them via D-3 radio.

"This is Sora, calling the Research Lab!"

"Sora, this is Yoshi here."

"We're about to come back through the Digiport. Everyone's present and accounted for, but we're going to need a doctor. Ken has reason to believe Yolei might have hypothermia."

"Right, Sora. Come on through."

Once cutting off communication, Yoshi started barking orders.

"Prepare re-entrance sequence! And someone get in touch with Osaka General! We might be sending at least one more their way tonight."

The techs went to work, quickly checking all of the safety locks and then giving a thumbs up to signal they were ready. Within seconds, Sora and Ken emerged from the Digiport simultaneously, carrying Yolei into the room.

Immediately a few of the scientists moved to clear a nearby table so that they could have some place to lie Yolei down until the paramedics arrived. As a few more went over to help Sora and Ken in moving Yolei, Hawkmon and Biyomon emerged from the Digiport. The two fliers were then followed by Cody, and finally Ryo, who was carrying Armadillomon and had Wormmon perched on his right shoulder.

As the group of carriers placed Yolei onto the table and covered her with as many blankets as they could find to keep her warm, Ryo carefully lowered himself to the ground so that Armadillomon could jump from his arms.

"So..." Ken said, not wasting time, "who did it? Which one of them killed Kari?"

"Calm down," Sora told him. "Right now, your wife needs your attention more. Let the rest of us worry about Kari."

Ken sighed. "You're right, Sora."

Ken then grabbed Yolei's right hand and clasped his over it. He did his best to comfort her with words and through his transfer of warmth... what little he could offer.

"Don't worry, dear... I'm here. Everything'll be alright."

"But..." Yolei said slowly. "What... about..."

"Shhh... you need to save your strength."

Hawkmon and Wormmon ran over to comfort their partners, while Cody ran off to find some tissues to blow his nose. Armadillomon followed him out.

Ryo glanced longingly at Yolei, fearing for her well-being. But the second that her husband Ken came into view, his glance turned into a skin-piercing glare. Ken could feel Ryo's stare without turning around to see it, but he didn't know why he was doing so.

"I have no idea what's up with him," Ken thought to himself, "but whatever his issue is will have to wait. Right now, I have to keep my attention on Yolei. I have to make sure she pulls through this!"

At that moment, Catherine reentered the room. Although she took a mental note of what was happening, she ignored it all for a moment as she walked over to talk to Yoshi.

"Um... pardon me, monsieur."

Yoshi glanced at the French Digidestined and responded, "Where's Izzy?"

"About that..." Catherine uttered slowly, "you see... well... Izzy's been... taken in."

"Taken in?" Sora asked, walking over. "By whom?"

"By the cops."

Sora gasped. "You mean Izzy's been arrested?"

* * *

"Daddy..." cried Chiharu, standing a couple of feet away at the building's entrance, watching as her father waved from the back seat of a squad car.

"Don't worry..." reassured Jun, who had accompanied Izzy's daughter outside. "I'm sure this is all just a misunderstanding."

As the police cars began to pull away, Catherine, Yoshi, Sora, and Ryo ran out to inquire more about why Izzy had been arrested. Alas, the vehicles refused to stop, and the gang could only watch as they disappeared from sight.

"Are you sure they said he was arrested for treason, Catherine?" Sora asked again.

"Yes," Jun answered, beating Catherine to the punch. "And murder."

"This can't be right," Yoshi shook his head. "The police know Izzy would do nothing to rile the Japanese government or hurt humanity. Who would press such charges against them?"

"I don't know," Sora stated, "but we're going to find out, one way or another."

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Osaka General, Matt was still in the waiting room. But this time, he was accompanied by a short brunette dressed in a plain baby blue T-shirt and a long, purple skirt. And she was crying into Matt's shirt, distraught over the situation at hand.

"Why?" she cried. "Why... why would these people do something so horrible to such innocent people?"

"I don't know, Karone," Matt told the woman. "I really don't know."

"And what about all of those Digimon, too? They're living, breathing beings!"

"I know. Ugh... sometimes people can be such a drag!"

"Why do we have people like that, Matt? Why?"

Matt sighed. "I have no idea why there are people who'd want to squash the beliefs and freedoms of humans and Digimon alike. But that's exactly what these terrorists are doing! They're trying to assert themselves as being in charge of the entire world! Something which they have no right to!"

Karone sniffled before adding a calming response. "Exactly. You know, Matt... I'm glad my husband has a guy like you for an older brother. You always seem to know the right thing to say."

Matt blushed. "I don't know... I'd like to think otherwise."

But Karone shook her head in disapproval. "Nonsense. You sell yourself way too short. Takeru is definitely lucky to have someone like you to watch his back."

"I guess... but you know, that's more of your job now, with you being married to him and all."

"I know... but in situations like these involving your work as Digidestined... I'm pretty useless."

"That's okay. As long as you're behind him in spirit, that's all that matters."

Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted when a doctor walked out into the waiting room, holding a clipboard in hand as he looked for someone.

"Is there a Matt Ishida here?" he asked.

"That's me," Matt responded, getting up from his seat. Karone followed suit, as the two walked over to meet the doctor.

"You're TK Takashi's brother, right?" the doctor asked.

"Yes," Matt nodded.

"And this is..." he started to say, starting to turn towards Karone.

"I'm Karone Takashi," she replied. "I'm his wife."

"So is TK going to be alright?" Matt asked.

"Well... we've stitched up the nasty tear in his shoulder. He also suffered some nerve damage to both of his legs when he was buried in the rubble at the restaurant. We're still trying to figure out the extent of his injuries and if there was any internal damage, but so far, everything's looking good."

"You mean he'll live through this?" Matt and Karone asked in unison.

"Yes. There's the possibility he may need crutches temporarily, but he is very much alive."

"Thank goodness!" Karone screamed, overwhelmed with joy.

"TK's alive!" Matt yelled. "He's going to be alright."

"Can we see him?"

"Yes, but only briefly. He's just finishing up in surgery. Once he's done, we'll move him to one of the patient rooms for you to visit."

"Thank you, thank you!" Karone screamed repeatedly.

"I'm just glad everything's okay now," Matt sighed in relief.

* * *

United Nations Building, New York City, 7:15 a.m. EST

After hastily rushing together a report, Tai arrived at work. The minute he walked into the main lobby, ready to head to his office, he was met by Stacy Compton, the red-haired accounting student who was serving as his secretary.

"Ah, Stacy..." Tai greeted, smiling at her. "What're you doing here so early?"

Stacy gasped with shock. "You mean you don't know?"

"About the Digiworld attacks? Of course I know... I just spent all night there, trying to help clear that situation up!"

"Not that! It's... it's all over the news! It just broke a few minutes ago!"

"What could be worse than what happened in the Digiworld?"

Stacy paused for a minute, then answered her boss' question.

"East Antarctica just declared war on the United States!"

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Dun dun dun... didn't see that one coming, now did ya?

Phil of the American Digidestined makes his first appearance, and so does Michael. With what's happening now, expect the other Am 'Destined to make brief appearances in the near future.

Because of his job, Ken doesn't get to go to many of the Digidestined reunions, which is why he doesn't recognize Ryo... he hasn't seen him in years!

**Next Episode - Roll Call  
**As the UN assembly prepares to open session on the day, will the East Antarctica representative spill the reasoning behind his decision to declare war? Meanwhile, there's about to be a shake-up at the Digimon Research Lab... with Izzy gone, the military has decided they should send one of their own to replace him...


	17. Roll Call

"The Circle of the Digidestined," written by Freedom Fighter 

Disclaimer: None of the characters, human or Digimon, belong to me, the writer.

Author's Warning: The following fanfic features gruesome character death, both of the human and Digimon kind, violence of varying levels, some profane language, and some suggestive situations. Please do not read this fanfic if you're underage or feel that you cannot handle any of said features.

This particular episode features several cases of profanity.

* * *

United Nations Building, New York City

Tai was standing in the middle of the lobby with his secretary, Stacy, who had just passed onto him some very shocking news.

"My lack of sleep must be getting to me. Could you repeat that again, Stacy? I could've sworn you just said..."

"East Antarctica just declared war on the United States!" Stacy exclaimed again.

"No way!" Tai freaked out. "Whatever happened to diplomatically resolving the differences between our countries?"

"That went out the window when they were attacked a little over an hour ago."

"How is that possible? There aren't any American armies stationed anywhere near their continent!"

"Maybe so... but that's not the case in the Digiworld, apparently."

Tai shook his head. "Unbelievable! All of these claims of theirs must be bullshit! The United States would never knowingly attack another country without reason!"

"Specifically, they claim that their territory was invaded by an American spy, who without warning waged an attack on a Digiworld village. Preliminary estimates state that there's at least one human dead and several dozen humans and Digimon were injured. The East Antarctican government calls it a terrorist attack, as well as an act of a declaration of war."

"Damn Yankees with their penchant for wanting to be so domineering! Americans can be so stupid when they don't get their way!"

Tai then noticed that Stacy was shooting him an odd, icy glare.

"Present company excluded... you know I don't think of you that way, Stacy!"

"I would sure hope not, considering you won't find a better intern anywhere else!"

Tai and Stacy then began walking towards the elevator, which they were going to take to his second floor office.

"I want to be in a three-way with the U.S. and England reps immediately! We have to figure out what exactly is going on, and what course of action to take. Before the whole world ends up at war!"

**Episode Seventeen - Roll Call (05.30.06)**

Digimon Research Laboratory, Osaka, 9:15 p.m. JST

Sora reached for the light switch and flicked it on, illuminating Izzy's cluttered office up. Tons of manila folders, unfinished paperwork, and days-old plastic boxes with unfinished morsels of food were lying all over the place. Sora stuck her tongue out in disgust.

"Yuck! Izzy seriously needs a maid to clean up this junkpile!"

Sora treaded lightly as she made her way to what she believed to be Izzy's desk, which was also covered in an assortment of filth. All except for his computer monitor, that is.

"Figures that would be clean," Sora noted as she found a chair and plopped into it, sliding her legs underneath the desktop.

As she reached for the computer's power switch, she heard the cries of the lone French Digidestined, who was calling out her name!

"Sora? Sora? Where are you?"

"I'm in Izzy's office!" Sora yelled, trying to catch her attention.

Seconds later, Catherine appeared in the doorway. Immediately, she noticed the state of disarray in Izzy's office.

"Sacre bleu! This is what you Japanese call an office?"

"You should see what all of the subordinates' offices look like," Sora joked.

Suddenly, Yoshi appeared behind Catherine, and he wasn't happy that his boss' room had been invaded so easily.

"You shouldn't be in here!" Yoshi shouted. "Izzy doesn't like anyone to be in his office without his permission!"

"If we're going to find out why Izzy's been taken in by the police, we have to go through his stuff. Phone records, files he may have been working on... anything and everything that could prove whether the charges against him are true!"

"I assure you, Sora... I have to make a log of everything he does. I'm sure if he's done something illegal, I'd know about it."

Sora hopped out of her seat and made her way back to the door.

"Then I guess the best place to start would be in your office, huh?"

"I'm not so sure about that..." Yoshi said hesitantly.

* * *

"You have GOT to be joking!" Sora exclaimed.

Sora and Catherine sweatdropped as Yoshi led them into his office, which was twice as cluttered, twice as junky, and twice as disgusting as Izzy's quarters.

"I knew you Japanese had tight living and working quarters," Catherine said, "but this? This is, how do you say... ridiculous!"

"Not to sound cliché... but this place definitely needs a woman's touch!"

"I'll keep that in mind," Yoshi replied, deadpanned.

"So... about those records..."

* * *

Osaka General Hospital

A nurse led Karone and Matt to one of the inpatient units, where they found TK lying wide awake in bed, waiting for their arrival.

"I ask that you take no longer than five minutes," requested the nurse. "The patient needs his rest."

"Thank you," Karone and Matt said simultaneously.

The nurse walked out of the room, leaving the duo a chance to talk to TK alone. Karone started off by running over and giving her husband a big hug.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so glad you're alive! I was afraid I was gonna lose you!"

TK patted his wife on the back, in an attempt to keep her calm.

"Now why would I go and leave you all alone to raise our son? You know he's a handful!"

Karone sniffled, pulling away to wipe a tear from her face. "That's just like you... thinking of others before yourself."

"That's good ol' TK alright," assured Matt, slowly trotting over.

"Matt? You're here too?"

"Hey... someone had to wait for you to get out of surgery."

"I'm just glad I got through it. Well, mostly anyway."

"Yeah... doc says you might be on crutches for a few weeks."

TK nodded. "I see. Guess that means you guys will have to stop these guys without me."

Matt and Karone glanced at each other solemnly, as if they were debating mentally who should be the one to break the bad news to TK.

But TK himself beat them to it.

"I already know. Kari's gone."

"But how..." stuttered Matt.

"It's a feeling I had... back when I got knocked out..."

* * *

_"Kari?" TK asked. "Where are you going?"_

_"Yeah... and why are you up there, instead of down here?" Davis added._

_Kari turned around to face the duo with a smile on her face._

_"I'm going to the light. I am the Digidestined of Light, after all."_

_"That makes sense," Davis quickly agreed._

_"Wait..." TK stepped in, a little weirded out. "Something's fishy around here..."_

_"The fate of the world rests in my hands," Kari told them. "It is my duty as the Digidestined of Light to step into the light. I am to go where I am truly needed."_

_"We don't understand, Kari!" TK exclaimed. "Why?"_

_"Yeah!" shouted Davis. "Doesn't the Digiworld need you? We save the world and stuff, remember?"_

_"I'm sorry... but I must go."_

_Kari did a complete 180-degree turn and started running towards the light beam. TK and Davis, feeling something was not right, attempted to give chase._

_"This is a journey I must take alone... goodbye, my friends..."_

_TK and Davis whited out as they watched Kari slowly disappear from their sight..._

* * *

"At that moment," TK said slowly, "I knew she had left us."

"I'm sorry," Matt apologized. "There was nothing the doctors could do for her. They tried... but it was too late."

TK lowered his head in silence. Karone reached for her husband's hands and clasped them between her own.

"I know how much she meant to you, TK. You've been best friends for most of your lives! It's hard to lose someone you've grown up with."

"We were always close, she and I. There was a point in my life where I thought I couldn't exist without her by my side. And then... before I knew it, she got married to Ryo. At that point, I thought... I thought my life was over. And then... then..."

"Then you met me," Karone said with a smile. "I remember how hard it was for me to finally get you to propose. Heh... boy, those were the longest three years of my life."

"Yeah," TK chuckled. "I pined for Kari even after she had married Ryo. I just couldn't let go."

"Tell me about it. You don't know how many times I had to call your brother and ask him 'why doesn't TK want to marry me? I know he loves me, so why isn't he ready to take the next step?'"

"I remember those months," Matt said. "I had to keep convincing you it was worth sticking it out. Though I have to admit, TK, you weren't exactly helping matters by taking so long to get over Kari."

"I guess my heart kept telling me that Kari'll leave him, Kari'll leave him. But he didn't. Which is okay, because Ryo made a great husband. Well... he did, anyway."

TK started to weep openly, as he leant over to cry into his wife's shirt. Karone did her best to comfort her, as Matt looked on silently.

"That's okay... just let it all out. Let Kari know how much you cared for her."

"I... I'm sorry that I couldn't do anything for you. I'M SORRY!"

TK screamed those last two words at the top of his lungs, loud enough for everyone in the hospital to hear.

"I'm sorry..."

* * *

Roughly an hour later, the main chamber of the United Nations Building began to fill up. Representatives from all over the world formed a sea of people of different races, cultures, and in some cases, species. Two years ago, the Digiworld was recognized as a four-part nation, enabling each quadrant to be represented by one person or Digimon apiece in the United Nations.

In a critical situation such as today's where time was of the essence and the Digiworld is directly affected by the events of the day, their presence was deemed necessary, as well as essential, to keep everlasting peace between the two worlds.

They needed them now, more than ever.

"Has anyone seen the East Antarctica representative?" Tai heard someone yelling as he entered the chamber with Stacy tailing him, a stack of manila folders clasped in hand.

"Is he defying us?" another asked. "Did he put forth this call of war without approval of the Peacekeeping Council?"

"Does anyone even know whether the country's claims are true? That the United States ordered an attack on an East Antarctican Digiworld colony?"

"That's fuckin' blasphemy! The President of the United States would never..."

"They could've without his knowledge. There are certain parts of the military that could certainly pull that off."

As several council members argued amongst themselves the facts, Tai and Stacy walked right past them and headed for the area where he normally sat.

"Any idea why the American rep isn't here yet?" Tai asked his secretary.

"Miss O'Neil should be here shortly. No one's quite sure yet, but the rumor is that she's going to deny the attack was ordered by the President."

"Honest-to-goodness truth or is she covering up?"

"I don't know."

"Any idea if there are any Digidestined in the area of the attack?"

"Uh-huh. Samuel Jenkins of the American contingent. He was in the Digiworld city of Aria... that's the city East Antarctica claimed was attacked."

"The tourist resort? Why's he there?"

"Precautionary measures. There was a credible threat to the city's safety, one promising similar consequences to the other attacks in the Digiworld over the past seven hours. He was sent there to help with the containment."

"So there's a team of soldiers with him?"

"Only a small handful... the local police were in charge of the situation at the time of the supposed attack."

"Supposed? You mean we don't even know if this attack actually happened?"

Stacy shook her head. "Most of the Western Quadrant was courted off at the time... 90 percent of the Digiports on the East Coast to that area of the Digiworld were sealed off as part of the precautionary measures. No communication is coming out or going in of the area!"

"Then for all we know, the East Antarctican representative just declared war on the United States for no credible reason!"

"Quite possibly, sir."

Tai was puzzled. "What the heck is going on?"

* * *

Meanwhile, halfway around the world at the Digimon Research Laboratory...

Sora and Catherine were peering over Yoshi's shoulder as he typed away at the computer in his office. They were searching for something that might explain why Izzy had been arrested and taken away by the police.

"I've gone over all of my files from the last six months, Sora! Twice! And I still haven't found anything that would incriminate Izzy!"

"But nothing that would prove him innocent, either..."

"Sacre bleu, Sora... you're not suggesting that the accusations... that zey are true?"

"Given all the madness today, Catherine, I'd believe anything right now."

"But it doesn't make sense!" Yoshi exclaimed. "Izzy's always fought for the good of our country! Why would he betray Japan?"

"Why wouldn't he?" Sora shot back. "Besides... there's always the chance he was forced to do so against his will."

"Like someone threatened him? Or his family?"

Sora nodded. "We need to dive deeper. Phone records, recent e-mails, any paper correspondence or faxes he may have received that might be suspicious."

"But I don't have the expertise to dive into that kind of stuff! Only Izzy himself knows!"

Sora snapped her fingers in disgust. "Yolei might've known how to pull it off... but she's already at Osaka General, and she's in no condition to do anything useful right now."

"So what should we do?" Catherine asked with a worried look on her face.

Yoshi and Sora were at a loss for words. It seemed they had stumbled upon a dead end. But their minds were about to be blown away by another startling revelation as Jun came running into the room.

"Guys... you won't believe what's happening..."

* * *

The quartet ran to the Main Lab, Catherine trailing far behind, where the remaining scientists were gathered along with some militia soldiers. And in the center was a very tall man with buzz cut black hair who was wearing a business suit and tie.

"From this point on, everything goes through me!" he exclaimed, pointing at himself. "I don't want anyone here doing anything until I know about it! Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," about half of the scientists replied, half-heartedly.

"I demand to know who you are and why you're trying to take charge of this laboratory!" Yoshi shouted, pushing through the crowd.

The man stepped forward ominously, stopping Yoshi in his tracks.

"You're Yoshi Ono, second-in-command of this facility?"

"Yes, that's me."

The gentleman reaches into his pocket and pulls out his ID card. "My name is Francois Napoleon. I work with the Japanese government... I'm here to replace the recently removed commander here, Izzy Izumi."

"You certainly don't look like a Napoleon," June commented.

"The last person who cracked that joke is dead," scowled Francois.

June turned blue in the face and hopped behind Sora to hide behind her. Sora shot Francois a dirty look... but for a completely different reason.

"Francois," she thought to herself, "where have I heard that name before?"

"Oh my French cupcakes!"

Everyone turned towards the entrance of the room and saw Catherine shivering with shock as she pointed right at Francois. A smile broke out on his face and he motioned to run towards her. But he thought otherwise, instead quickly falling back into his scowling look.

"Okay, enough standing around, we've got work to do! We've got us a situation to take care of! I want this portal up and running to the Western Quadrant five seconds ago!"

As Francois started barking orders to the dispersing workers, Sora and June made their way over to Catherine, who was still somewhat frozen in place.

"Is that who I think it is?" hinted Sora.

Catherine nodded. "Yep! That's Francois, my husband-to-be!"

Words could not escape from the two women's stunned, gaping figures.

"Isn't he dreamy?" the French Digidestined swooned.

* * *

Back at the United Nations in New York City, the nearly-full room was abuzz as it was being passed around that the East Antarctican representative was about to enter the chamber and the morning session was about to begin. As delegates rushed to their seats, paparazzi moved to their appropriate quarters, and everyone else cleared the area, Tai pulled out his D-3 and was talking to Matt, who was on the other end.

"Sora's bent on proving Izzy's innocence," Matt reported. "I really hope she and the others can come up with something."

Tai nodded. "Great. Keep me posted... I'll be in touch."

With that, Tai shut his D-3 off. He sighed and closed his eyes, as to take in everything that's happened so far.

"Izzy's being accused of treason. Matt and Sora are trying to prove his innocence. TK, Davis, Yolei, and Ken are all at the hospital. Mimi's wandering around downtown New York with no regard for her own safety. And Joe and Kari... they're both gone!

"On top of that... there's this whole issue of the United States being accused of attacking East Antarctica! Is this related to all of those disasters in the Digiworld? Whatever it is, we're about to find out what's going down..."

With that note, Tai looked up and saw the East Antarctican representative enter the room. Wearing a white suit and fielding questions from the reporters around him, he walked down the center aisle and towards his seat. Which, ironically, was directly across the room Tai's.

"Okay, the ball's in your court, Jindra Maseroon."

Tai frowned as he focused all his attention on Jindra... a frown that was shared by many of his fellow representatives...

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Nice to be back in the saddle with this series.

Hopefully you've taken the hiatus, or at least refreshed your memory, by rereading the previous episodes. In that case, I shouldn't have to explain the significance of the names Francois and Jindra. You mean you didn't? Sigh... see Episodes 2 and 15 for details.

Or, if you're lazy... see below...

**Next Episode - State of the Union**  
Jindra Maseroon, the East Antarctican representative, presents everything that's led up to their declaration of war. Just how much of his story is truth, and how much is baloney? Plus... Jindra's not the only one 'under the bright lights,' as Izzy is being interrogated by the Japanese government!


	18. State of the Union

"The Circle of the Digidestined," written by Freedom Fighter 

Disclaimer: None of the characters, human or Digimon, belong to me, the writer.

Author's Warning: The following fanfic features gruesome character death, both of the human and Digimon kind, violence of varying levels, some profane language, and some suggestive situations. Please do not read this fanfic if you're underage or feel that you cannot handle any of said features.

* * *

United Nations Building, New York City, 8:00 am EST

The delegates of the United Nations took their seats as the body president, Representative Luigi Malossini of Italy, called the meeting to order.

"In the 2027th year of our Lord, August the 13th, I call this assembly to order!" he proclaimed, banging his gavel on the desk in front of him. "As you all know, we have a pressing situation to deal with this morning..."

"Stop beating around the bush, mate, and skip to the point already!" the representative from Australia exclaimed, jumping out of his seat.

"It's them bloody Americans' fault for sticking their noses where they shouldn't be jamming them!" added the German representative.

"President Martin would never order an attack on innocent civilians!" defended the delegate from the United States.

"You Americans and your pack of lies! What do you call the Border War of 2012... you drove those poor Mexicans to extinction!"

"That's falsified subterfuge from you Germans and you know it!"

Representative Malossini banged his gavel several times in an attempt to regain control of the chamber.

"Representative Fynn Jager! Representative Abigail O'Neil! Such disruptions will not be tolerated! Speak out of turn again and you will both be removed from the chamber!"

"If I make speak, Chairman Malossini?" inquired Tai, raising his hand.

"Representative Tai Kamiya of Japan has the floor..." he agreed, sighing.

Standing up, Tai began to address the room.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let it be known that East Antarctica was given a request just mere days ago. That request was that their country not go to war with the United States, or anyone else, without exhausting all possible options through the subcommittee."

Tai peered across the way and see Jindra Maseroon, the East Antarctican representative, raise his hand to speak.

"The floor recognizes Jindra Maseroon of East Antarctica."

All inquiring eyes turned their attention towards the burly man, who seemed intent on making a statement.

"We are a peaceful people, Representative Kamiya. We were willing to listen to the committee's options for avoiding a declaration of war, and did express intent to exhausting those options before deciding upon any such reprehensible action. But the American militia... they insisted on attacking an innocent village of my people."

"If I may say so," Representative O'Neil cut in, turning towards the chairman to make sure she had an okay before proceeding, "no such attack was sanctioned on any East Antarctican location!"

"It doesn't have to be sanctioned, Representative O'Neil. The fact that your country willing attacked mine without any recourse is more than enough grounds for war."

"You don't have any proof of that!"

"I may not," Representative Maseroon admitted, "but I know someone in this room that does."

Raising his right hand, he pointed right across the room... at Tai!

**Episode Eighteen - State of the Union (06.06.06)**

Japanese Secret Service Facility, Osaka Branch, 10:00 pm JST

Sitting in a gray wallpapered room with nothing in it other than a table and two chairs around it, one in which he was sitting in, Izzy waited anxiously. He still wasn't clear on why the charges of murder and treason had been brought against him. But he figured that he would be cleared in no time at all.

At least he hoped...

"We don't have time for this," Izzy thought to himself. "Those rogue agents could strike again and we have no idea where they are. Or their Digimon. Who knows what evil scheme they could be up to."

* * *

Digimon Research Laboratory

As scientists and other workers scuffled about them, Francois walked over to his bride-to-be, Catherine, and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

"Bon-bon, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Well, mon cherie... if you're here, I figure you know why I am."

He nodded. "You're a Digidestined, aren't you?"

Catherine reached into her pocket and pulled out her D-3 to confirm it. Francois sighed and shook his head.

"What's wrong?"

"Why didn't you ever tell me you were a Digidestined?"

"I didn't think it was important."

"Well, obviously something as important as this is."

"Francois, before today it had been almost two years since I had last used it for Digidestined business. My life doesn't revolve around that job much these days. And speaking of not giving out secrets..."

Francois shook his head. "This is different. My job is a matter of national security!"

"To Japan? But you're French!"

"So are you, but you're here in Japan. It can't be just a mere coincidence."

"I'm here with Sora," she said, pulling the Digidestined of Love into the fray after she had been wisely staying out of it to the side with June.

"You know, I don't think visiting friends this late at night and in a situation such as the one we're in now is wise."

"I'm more than just a friend," Sora spoke up. "My name's Sora. Sora Takenouchi, a member of the Japanese Digidestined!"

"Ah yes," Francois said, her name coming to mind. "I've heard all about you and your fellow team members' extraordinary adventures in the times before humans and Digimon could freely travel between the worlds. You certainly were remarkable kids back then."

"Well..." Sora blushed, "they didn't call us the 'Chosen Children' for nothing..."

"And as much as your efforts are appreciated, you will no longer be needed here. You and your team can go home now."

Catherine gasped in shock at her fiancé's bold order. But Sora wasn't about to just walk out and let it be, especially with Francois starting to walk away from them.

"I beg your pardon, Francois, is it not?"

Francois turned about and glared at Sora. "It is."

"With all due respect, sir, there is a crisis right now in the Digiworld. No one in this building knows the Digiworld any better than me or any of my teammates. We are willing to help you in any way possible!"

"Mrs. Takenouchi, as great as the reputation of the Digidestined is, obviously your team did not meet expectations today with all of the hubbabaloo going on. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you've got compatriots who are in the hospital, are halfway around the world, or are under arrest for treason! A situation that your team would've been expected to have been handled properly has not. You've failed in your mission... cut your losses and go home!"

"That's not acceptable! We've never given up on anything! Do you think any of us would've gotten out of the Digiworld when we were kids if we just gave up? I'm not about to give up, and I'm sure all of my friends feel the exact same way!"

"Listen here, Mrs. Takenouchi, that is not your decision to make!"

"Then whose decision is it?"

Francois stared Sora in the eyes for about a minute or so, then turned and pointed at two nearby soldiers, beckoning for them to come over.

"Wha... what is this?" Sora asked, pointing at the soldiers.

Francois turned to the soldiers and said, "Please escort Mrs. Takenouchi off of the premises. She is no longer welcome here whilst the lab is under my control."

"Yes, sir!" the two soldiers acknowledged before glancing at Sora.

"So you're kicking me out?"

"Yes. And I warn you, if you do not walk out now of your own accord, you will be arrested for trespassing on government property."

"I can't believe... Catherine, do something about this."

Catherine frowned. "You know I don't have the power to do that, Sora."

"So you're just gonna let him kick me out?"

"I'd also like the shelter downstairs cleared out too. Only direct family members of on-staff personnel may be allowed to remain. Everyone else must leave. If anyone resists, have them arrested."

One of the two soldiers walked over towards June and motioned her towards Sora.

"What did I do?" questioned June as she followed Sora, who was already heading towards the exit with a soldier marching beside her.

"Are you sure that was necessary?" a worried Catherine asked as her friends were being escorted out.

"It's for their own good," reassured Francois. "We can't take the risk of their being another traitor like Izumi."

"But Francois... there's no proof Izzy betrayed his country!"

"That's not for me to decide, my dear," he said before turning around and walking back into the room to check on the scientists' progress.

Catherine glanced down the hall and watched Sora and June leave, both of them shooting angry glares at her.

* * *

"Representative Kamiya, is what Representative Maseroon saying true?" Chairman Malossini asked.

Everyone turned towards the Japanese delegate, who seemed to be at a loss for words. Well, he had words to say... just ones that he wasn't comfortable about saying.

"It's okay..." smirked Representative Maseroon. "Take your time... after all, since the reasoning has something to do with the Digidestined, I figured you should have no problem fielding this inquiry."

"I object!" exclaimed Representative O'Neil. "Why is the Japanese representative speaking for the East Antarctican one when the latter is the one we should inquire regarding the motives of my country's alleged attack!"

"Because his loyalty to the clan of the Digidestined will keep him from ratting out one of his own!"

"If you are claiming that the American Digidestined are responsible..."

"Oh, but they are! And you see, they've been planning this for months!"

Murmurs rumbled throughout the chamber at this startling revelation. The loudest of which came from the section reserved for the four Digiworld representatives.

"That's impossible!" exclaimed Representative Terriermon of the Western Quadrant. "The Digidestined have always been loyal to the Digiworld! Speaking for my fellow Digimon here, who agree with my stance, the allegations that a Digidestined would want to destroy our world are..."

"Completely and utterly true," interrupted Representative Maseroon. "And there are documented reports of incidents in the last four weeks of American Digidestined participating in reconnaissance missions on targets that are under my country's jurisdiction. Both in the real world and in the Digiworld.

"Including the village of Aria, which was attacked less than an hour ago!"

Representative O'Neil jumped out of her seat. "I ask again, where is this proof? Why haven't you presented it in front of us for the entire delegation to examine for themselves?"

"For asking for proof for my country's claims, I'm surprised that you have yet to show proof that my claims are in fact false."

"What? This isn't a trial! And besides, I asked you first!"

"Ahem!" coughed Chairman Malossini. "Representative O'Neil is correct. This is an inquiry, not a trial. That being said, I would hope that the American delegate does indeed have that information ready and available for a forthcoming inquiry. For the moment, we should be focused on the topic at hand, Representative Maseroon, which is the reasons of why your country declared war on the United States without the consultation of the United Nations."

"I was getting to that, your honor."

"Proceed, then, and enough with this sidetracking!"

Representative Maseroon nodded, then produced a manila folder from the suitcase he had brought in. Out of that, he took out pictures of two of the American Digidestined: one African-American, the other was a Native American.

"These two men, American Digidestined, have been spotted in several key location over the aforementioned period of time. Both were seen with cameras and notepads. On several occasions they were approached by the local security questioning what they were doing. Each of them has been arrested once when they refused to answer our authorities' questions. All they would admit was that it was part of their job. That they had been ordered by the government to have documentation on key points in our capital city of Berg, our Digiworld colony of Clod in the Western Quadrant, and several other cities, towns, and villages of interest."

Representative O'Neil spoke up once again. "I'd like to note that, because of the small membership of the American Digidestined and how spread across the country their residences are, they work independent of the federal government."

"But don't they occasionally take jobs for the government?"

"Occasionally, yes. As in the cases you just mentioned."

"Uh-huh... so the government willingly sent out these Digidestined to spy on the people of my country?"

"They were not there to spy on your people!"

"Well, Representative O'Neil, that's certainly debatable. But what isn't is the incidents that have occurred in the Digiworld within the last ten hours. Starting with an occurrence in Sector 3.19 of the Western Quadrant..."

Tai perked up at those familiar coordinates being announced.

"That's where all that mess started!" he stated aloud. "That's where things in the Digiworld kicked off. With the Jagamon stampede!"

"A stampede that killed three scientists, including one of your fellow Digidestined, Representative Kamiya. Is that correct?"

Tai wavered as he remembered hearing about how Joe was killed. But he wasn't the only one...

* * *

"I want you to tell me everything that's occurred since twelve today, Mr. Izumi," a suit-wearing Japanese man wearing sunglasses told the Digidestined of Knowledge was told.

Izzy gulped, aware that with nothing else to focus on in the room, he had no choice but to stare at the man and give in to his questioning.

"Well, you see... it started with a routine census count gone wrong..."

Begin flashbacking of the events as Izzy narrates them.

"Three of my subordinates at the Digimon Protection Agency were hard at working completing a census count in Sector 3 of the Western Quadrant. They were Touji Harasuzu, Sasuke Higurashi, and Joe Kido. I was observing their work from the laboratory. It was a routine job, and everything was peaceful. In fact, they had been working so hard that they were requesting I give them a lunch break."

"So, did you?"

"Originally, I want them to move to Sector 3.20 and keep working. But after recognizing their lack of energy, I decided to go ahead and bring them back."

"Hmmm... from what I heard, despite almost immediately acknowledging their request, it took you three minutes before you had opened that portal."

"My daughter, Chiharu, had run into the laboratory."

"And what was she doing in a restricted area?"

"She had been picked up by my personal assistant, Rena Yagami. Her school had closed early today because a student had set off the fire sprinklers in his classroom by accident. From my understanding, the authorities and school administration wanted time to assess any damages."

"That's no excuse, Mr. Izumi!"

"She's harmless. Chiharu is very intelligent for her age. She wouldn't do anything that would keep me from doing my work."

"But... wouldn't you say she did just that today in delaying you from opening the portal that could've saved the lives of your associates?"

"Wha? Are you implying that I had asked Miss Yagami to bring Chiharu to me."

"Why not? Isn't Chiharu more fond of being around you than her mother, Sakura Izumi?"

"Hey, leave my wife out of this! Besides, Chiharu loves both of her parents equally as much."

"Regardless, the fact that she was in the room and drawing your attention at the time prevented from reacting to the developing situation in a hasty manner."

"My team was well aware of the dangers of being in an enclosed space filled with wild and untamed Digimon. There's no way any of them, or myself, could've expected that stampede of Jagamon."

"But that's just it... you knew that the Jagamon were going to stampede."

"What?"

"You had planned it all along... you thought they were useless to you, and that's why you threw them into an inescapable trap."

"That's preposterous! I would never do that! My fellow subordinates understand the risks involved, and I never force them to do anything that they don't want to do!"

There was a pause for a minute. Then...

"I understand once a portal to Sector 3.19 of the Western Quadrant was opened, you led the away team that went to check on their safety. Is that correct?"

"Yes, that is."

"How long did it take you to figure out what had happened?"

"Less... less than five minutes."

"And what did you find?"

"The... I found their remains. They had been... trampled to death by the Jagamon."

"Intentionally?"

"No. At least, not at the time. It wasn't until another ten minutes later when we got a report saying Jagamon were stampeding through two neighboring sectors. I knew something had caused them to run amuck, but at that moment, the most pressing issue was getting anyone that might be in their path out of the way."

"So you closed off all of the neighboring sectors and evacuated any humans around out of the Digiworld?"

"That is correct."

"And you're saying you have no idea how the stampede started?"

"No... not for sure. We know there's this group of individuals..."

"You didn't answer my question. I asked you if it was true that you have no idea how the stampede started!"

"Well, nothing substantiated..."

"At this moment right now, do you know for sure? Yes or no?"

Izzy sighed. "No."

"So three of your scientists are dead, and the incident was totally preventable..."

"We can't really tell it was preventable, especially if..."

"If you had been doing your job instead of fooling around with your child, the lives of those three could have been saved! By not following protocol and allowing illicit personnel into a secure area..."

"Illicit personal? That's my only child you're talking about!"

"And if not for her, you wouldn't have three families making funeral arrangements! It's your blood on those victims' hands!"

"Hey, I did everything I could to save them!"

"But you didn't! And that's the bottom line, Mr. Izumi. There are no in-betweens, only absolutes. Only life... and death."

"So this is what the whole murder charge is about?"

"I see you aren't taking this seriously."

"Why should I? I never had any intentions of killing them! This was the work of a group of masterminded terrorists! They intend to tear our world and the Digital World apart! Don't you get it?"

The agent slammed his hands on the table and glared at Izzy.

"Don't... you?"

Izzy gasped. "I can't believe you'd insinuate that I'd intentionally kill my fellow scientists. Men that I have known for many years, including one since childhood?"

"Mr. Izumi, we have proof that you've been in contact with a well-known wanted criminal. One that is claiming that you instructed him to start that Jagamon stampede and kill those three scientists."

"Who? Who would make such a claim?"

"A man named Dingo Jack. Immigrated from Australia about thirteen years ago, he turned himself in about two hours ago claiming that he's a part of the group that's supposedly responsible for all of the destruction in the Digital World over the past ten hours."

"What? I don't know the guy! I've never met him before."

"He says that you're the one in charge. That you're the ringleader of the crew!"

"And you believe him?"

"Phone records show you contacted him a dozen times over the past month, including five times in the past twelve hours alone!"

"That's impossible! I've been in and out of the Digiworld during the time. I was coordinating the efforts of the Digidestined to get to the bottom of all of this! There's no way I could've taken those calls!"

"We have audio evidence that backs up Mr. Jack's claims."

Izzy laughed. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You believe this joker?"

"Don't toy with me! You know who this guy is! And you've been conspiring with him and three other individuals in a plot to destroy the Digiworld!"

"I told you, I don't know who he is!"

"And I say otherwise!"

The agent reached into his pocket and pulled out a photograph. The man in it had brown hair and was wearing a windsurfing outfit as he was sloshing through waves in the background.

"I've never seen that person before in my life!"

"Uh-huh. He anticipated that... so he also brought a picture of him from his childhood. This is what he looked like back in 1999."

Pulling out another photograph, the agent gave this one to Izzy. Although also not recognizing him despite also windsurfing in this pic, he did seem to find the Digimon beside him, a Crabmon familiar. Then, all of a sudden...

"Oh my digi-Gods..."

* * *

The United Nations chamber was in a state of delirium as the delegates were stunned as to a revelation that had been revealed by Representative Maseroon. Even Tai himself seemed stunned when he heard it. Chairman Malossini was trying to desperate to regain control of the room, but to no avail.

Above him on a screen, a slide projector had been stopped on a picture of two Americans and their Digimon in the midst of detonating an explosive device. And a target, which seemed to be a city hall of some sorts, exploding into pieces in the background.

Tai reached for his cell phone and dialed the number for his assistant. In mere seconds, Cindy's voice rang through from the other end.

"Cindy, it's me. I want you to get in touch with Mimi Tachikawa. We have some things to talk about."

With that, he closed his cell phone and took another look at the screen. The two Americans on the screen were Digidestined, and their Digimon were Tortomon and Flarizamon.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Well, time to throw in some startling revelations, eh?

So what's exactly going on here? Are there really rogue Digidestined going around causing trouble? Are they responsible for everything that has happened so far in this series? Do you even know who is being referred to yet? I trust you, everything isn't as it seems...

Oh, and remember when I said we'd eventually catch up with all of our Digidestined families? Well...

**Next Episode - Family Matters**  
All is calm as midnight approaches in Japan, and the Digidestined and their families are still trying to take in everything that's happened. But the day has just begun in America, as Tai tries to figure out the truth behind Representative Maseroon's claims of Digidestined being corrupted by evil.


	19. Family Matters

"The Circle of the Digidestined," written by Freedom Fighter 

Disclaimer: None of the characters, human or Digimon, belong to me, the writer.

Author's Warning: The following fanfic features gruesome character death, both of the human and Digimon kind, violence of varying levels, some profane language, and some suggestive situations. Please do not read this fanfic if you're underage or feel that you cannot handle any of said features.

* * *

Digimon Research Laboratory, 11:30 pm JST

As the process of booting out all of the building's non-personnel wrapped up, a small group of humans and Digimon were gathering in the parking lot.

"Can they really kick us out like that?" Dora asked, enraged.

"Since it's a government installation, yes," Sora said. "But that doesn't exactly please me, either."

"Some government we have," commented Ryo, glancing at Sora. "You guys have been putting your lives on the line for humans and Digimon alike for years and years! And to just toss us aside when they need us the most..."

"Look... we may be outside the laboratory, but that doesn't mean we have to quit doing our jobs. Both worlds still need us to protect them. Right, guys?"

Sora turned towards Biyomon, Gabumon, and Tentomon, all standing beside her.

"Right!" they agreed in unison.

"This battle's far from over!" Biyomon exclaimed.

"We'll protect everything that's near and dear to us!" Gabumon added.

"The legend of the Digidestined won't be soiled by these evildoers!" shouted Tentomon.

"So, what's the plan then?" Ryo prompted of the lone Digidestined in the bunch.

"Well..." Sora explained, "Agumon, Gomamon, and Palmon are trying to find where Patamon and the others are. We know they were with Davis' group but didn't come back with them to the real world. They left before the military took over. We think they're stuck in the Northern Quadrant because almost all of the portals there are closed off because of recent reports a target in East Antarctica was struck."

Chiharu tugged at Sora's skirt. "Isn't that the place Uncle Tai is trying to defend at the United Nations?"

"Yes... but I've been unable to reach him the last two times I tried. They must be in an emergency session, given the situation."

"Okay, what are we going to do?" Ryo asked again, impatient.

"First, we need to get you all to a place that's safe and out of harm's way. Any suggestions?"

Chiharu spoke up again. "I know, I know! There's this civilian shelter nearby that offers some great accommodations!"

Ryo scoffed. "Are we really gonna listen to recommendations of a little girl?"

"I don't suppose you have a better idea," Sora snapped, defending her.

Davis Jr. laughed and made funny faces at Chiharu. "Dork!"

"You take that back!" Chiharu yelled.

But Davis Jr. ignored her. "Dork, dork, dork, dork, dork!"

As he kept repeating himself, ticking Chiharu even more in the process, Akio, quite the imitator, began to follow Davis Jr.'s lead.

"Dork, dork, dork, dork!" Davis Jr. and Akio shouted in unison.

"Knock it off!" Sora, June, and Dora screamed.

"You know better than that," Ryo said, pulling Akio away from Davis Jr.

"For the record, I agree with Chiharu-chan's assessment and recommendation"  
analyzed Tentomon.

"See?" beamed Chiharu as she hugged Tentomon. "I can always count on you to back me up!"

"Fine," Ryo agreed with disdain. "We'll follow her... for now."

"Can you show us which way to go?" June asked, kneeling down to look at Izzy's girl face-to-face.

"Uh-huh," Chiharu nodded before turning to Sora. "But what about mommy?"

"Matt and I know where she lives. We'll inform her of the situation and meet you guys at the shelter."

"You're absolutely sure it's safe there?" Jean, Joe's wife, who had kinda been forgotten in the background, asked with her son, John, clinging very close to her.

"With the Digimon there it'll be," reassured Sora.

"You can count on us!" Gabumon said, saluting Sora. Biyomon and Tentomon quickly followed suit.

The group started to pile into two cars. June was driving one, and with her were Jean, John, Chiharu, and Tentomon. Ryo was behind the wheel of the other, and he had Dora, Davis Jr., Akio, and Gabumon with him. Sora, Biyomon, Michelle, and Sam waved goodbye to them, as they were waiting for Matt, who was on en route, driving back from Osaka General.

"I hope they all get there safe," Sora thought to herself.

**Episode Nineteen - Family Matters (06.13.06)**

Osaka General Hospital

Sharing a hospital room, Ken observed as Cody was on the phone with his loved ones... his wife and his daughter, who were worried about his safety.

"When you gonna come home, daddy?" asked Cody's daughter excitedly. "I wanna show you something superity-duperity awesome that I made in class today!"

"You know how work is, Mai, baby... there's always a need for a lawyer!"

"Bust 'em up good for me, daddy!"

Cody laughed. "Don't worry, I will. Say... could you put mommy on the phone now?"

"'K! Be home soon!"

Cody waited as he heard Mai hand the phone off, then scream with delight as she rushed out of the room. Probably off to bed, Cody surmised.

"C... Cody?" his wife came on, shyly.

"Shinobu, dear... are you okay?"

"I'm okay... it's nothing that needs worrying about."

"Why aren't you home? I... I heard it all on the news. Just what's going on?"

"Don't worry about it. I just... it's just Digidestined stuff. The job never ends, you know?"

"Please be careful, Cody. I don't know... I... I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you. Mai, too."

"Armadillomon will protect me. He's never failed me before."

"Come home safe!"

"I will. Love you lots! Bye!"

Shinobu sniffled. "Bye."

Cody hung up the phone and sighed. Ken noticed the disenchanted face on his friend and decided to inquire.

"Everything alright?"

Cody slowly nodded. "Just Shinobu worrying about me. She's always scared whenever I go out for an extended period of time. She thinks something bad's gonna happen to me."

"That explains why you didn't explain the entire situation to her."

"Yeah. She'd go to pieces. Shinobu worried is not a pretty sight, trust me."

Matt took a deep breath and reached for the phone. "Guess it's my turn."

"Checking up on the kids?"

"Yeah. I bet Mr. Moto's mad we dumped them on him suddenly and we still haven't picked them up."

"Such is the life when both parents are a Digidestined, eh?"

"Well, it's usually not a problem... only one of us goes out on a mission while the other watches the kids. Given the urgency of the situation, we thought it was best both of us got involved."

"Are you gonna go get them?"

Ken nodded. "If I didn't have to stay here for observation tonight, it would've taken one quick Digi-port trick to get them and come back."

"So... any update on Yolei?"

* * *

Yolei was lying asleep in her bed, with a warm compress on her head and a bunch of blankets covering the rest of her body. Hawkmon was resting his eyes on a nearby chair, next to a desk where the remnants of Yolei's glasses were. They had to remove them in a hurry to keep them from permanently freezing to Yolei's nose and ears.

* * *

"They said it may take a few days for her body temperature to completely return to normal, but the next few hours are crucial. If she can stay warm enough and hold on, she should make a full recovery. At least, that's what the doctors told me."

"Man... we should've protected her more."

"There's so much we could've done and we didn't! That should be me in ICU, fighting for my life instead of her!"

"Look, we did what we could..."

"But that doesn't seem to be enough! Joe's dead! So is Kari! My wife almost went with them, and the same for Davis and TK! These guys... it's like their plan all along... it was to take us all out!"

"Don't jump to conclusions, Ken. We don't know that yet!"

Ken slammed the phone down and threw it against the wall, smashing it in the process. "How do we know, Cody? How do we know?"

"Look, everything's gonna be okay. Wormmon and Armadillomon are going to keep us safe, and Hawkmon's keeping an eye on Yolei! Plus with all of the hospital security, we're as safe as safe can be."

That seemed to reassured Ken, as he slowly calmed back down. He then turned to what was left of the phone on the floor to his right.

"Say... you think the nurse'll spring us with a new phone?"

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, with a replacement phone in hand and this time actively dialing a number, Ken prepared to talk with his kids, whom he hadn't seen in hours.

"Hello?" a voice rang out from the other end, old and grumpy-like.

"Mr. Moto? Hi, it's me, Mr. Ichijouji!"

"About time!" Mr. Moto responded. "So... when are you picking up the little rascals?"

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Nothing right now... they're asleep. But I'm telling you, they've got energy like the dickens! And that baby of yours, Mason, boy, he spits stuff out as fast as he inhales it!"

Ken laughed nervously. "That's our little garbage disposal."

"So... when can I expect you by?"

"Um... you see, that's the problem..."

Ken went on to explain the situation in detail, though he purposely omitted the finer points, for his protection.

"Look, I'd explain more, but..."

"That's enough, Mr. Ichijouji. Look... Ken. I just wanna know..."

"I promise, I'll pick them up in the morning as soon as the hospital gives me a clean bill of health."

"Well... you get well then. And give my regards to the Mrs."

"I will. Have a good night, Mr. Moto."

With that, Ken hung up the phone.

"So?" asked a curious Cody.

"The kids are fine," Ken confirmed. "Agatha, Watson, and Mason are all already asleep. Mr. Moto said he'll watch them 'til morning."

"You think they'll be safe with him?"

Ken snickered. "I pity anyone who tries to pull one over on him! The guy's a military veteran of a war or two. He has no qualms having to kill someone if they threaten his home."

Cody sweatdropped. "Are you sure he won't try to kill your kids?"

"Nonsense! Around kids, he purrs like a kitten. He adores them!"

"Well... I guess we'd better catch some Z's then. Now that we know our families are safe, we can rest easy for a few hours."

"Uh-huh... I definitely need some sleep. Good night!"

Ken got up from his bed and went to the light switch, flicking it off.

* * *

Meanwhile, in another wing of the hospital, Karone, after a lot of prodding of the hotel staff, was allowed to stay with TK for the night. Luckily, he had the room alone, so she was able to use the other bed. But neither were sleeping at the moment, for they had been blessed of getting one of the few rooms with a videophone in it.

And they were in the midst of talking to their son, Sasuke, who was at a friend's house back in Tokyo, spending the night.

"Hey, lil' slugger, don't you go and act up over at Ichi's house, okay?" TK warned his son, who nodded in compliance.

"Be good, and I might bring you back a souvenir when we pick you up tomorrow!" teased Karone.

"Yeah!" cheered Sasuke, clapping his hands in anticipation.

"Bye bye now!" TK and Karone told their son, waving at the screen.

Sasuke giggled again as TK signed off, turning the videophone off. The two parents breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm glad nothing's happened to him," Karone noted.

"You know we can trust the Kusanagis," TK reassured his wife. "We've been neighbors for years... we've never had reason to worry about them."

"It's... it's not the Kusanagis I'm worried about."

TK reached over and locked his wife in an embrace, wrapping his arms around her back.

"We'll find these terrorists, Karone. We'll bring them to justice and make them pay for everything they've done. Especially for being responsible for Kari's death. I won't let them get away with this!"

Karone smiled with determination, aware that her husband was definitely a man of his word. He'd avenge Kari... she knew he would.

* * *

Back at the gates of the Digimon Research Laboratory, two cars pulled up... a gray Toyota Camry followed by a dark blue Toyota Corolla. Matt hopped out of the first after parking it and immediately ran over to Sora to give her a hug and a kiss.

"Sora, are you alright?" Matt asked after doing both.

"Wow... somebody certainly missed me," Sora said, blushing.

"I'm sorry. It's just, when you called and said they kicked you all out, I got worried. What if something happened to you out here?"

"We're fine. Right, kids?"

Michelle and Sam crowded around and glomped onto each of Matt's two legs.

"You're back for real this time?" Michelle wondered out loud.

"No more going back to space?" asked the younger Sam.

"Not for a day or so, at least," Matt told his two children. "Daddy's got important Digiworld business to take care of."

The second car shut off, and Sakura, Izzy's wife, slowly climbed out.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, somewhat panicked. "Is my girl here?"

"Calm down, Sakura," Sora said, walking over to the frightened brunette. "We're going to meet up with her and the others right now."

"Thank goodness! And what about my husband? Is what Matt said true?"

Sora glanced at her own husband, wondering if he had told Sakura what had happened to Izzy. Getting an affirmative nod, she shot a piercing glare at him.

"I had to tell her! Sakura wouldn't come with me otherwise."

Accepting Matt's explanation, Sora turned back to Sakura and clasped her own hands over her friend's.

"Yes. Every word of it."

Sakura was taken aback by the statement, as she took a step back and almost tripped over her own feet. Luckily, Biyomon had expected this, so she was hovering behind Sakura, ready to catch her.

"Did... did he really do what the police say he did?"

"To be honest, we really have no idea. I was trying to see if I could find any proof, but we all got kicked out before I could turn up anything."

"You... you don't think they believe he's a traitor to Japan?"

Matt fielded this question. "We have to assume that's their belief. Even without proof, that's procedure for them."

"We'll get to the bottom of this," Sora said to Sakura. "If Izzy really is innocent, then we'll find proof."

"But right now, we have to get you reunited with your girl. Plus, we have to get you out of harm's way, in case these terrorists decide to come after us again."

The six of them, including Biyomon, piled into Sakura's car. Refiring, Sakura drove off towards the civilian shelter Chiharu had suggested before, with Sora giving out directions.

* * *

Japanese Secret Service Facility

Speaking of Izzy, he was still being grilled by the same agent as before. He was in a state of disbelief after learning just minutes ago that he had been pointed out as the leader of the terrorists, claimed by one of the group's members.

His name was Dingo Jack. But Izzy knew him better as Derek, the Digidestined of Australia.

"Why would Derek, a member of the Digidestined, do something so vile and destructive?" Izzy asked the agent.

"You tell me, Mr. Izumi, since you seem to be in the same boat."

"I'm telling you, I have nothing to do with this evil plan of theirs at all! If he told you I'm the ringleader of his gang, he's lying!"

"But, the truth is, when you think about it, you had the power to oversee everything that happened today. You sent Joe and that team of scientists out to a narrow canyon. You called for the Digidestined to reunite and split them out to cover several threats. You had team members who were caught out of their element and separated from their Digimon partners. You have hundreds of lives greased on your bloody hands, including two of your own, Joe Kido and Kari Kamiya!"

"I did not kill Joe! And I definitely didn't kill Kari!"

"Or so you say."

Izzy growled in frustration. "What will it take for you to believe me?"

"Admitting your guilt would be a nice start, Mr. Izumi."

"Admitting my guilt? I have no guilt about anything today!"

"So you're saying that all of those deaths meant absolutely nothing?"

"That's not what I said!"

"Oh, that's just what you said."

Izzy shook his head. "I can't believe you guys. This isn't fair!"

"Life's not fair."

"Ugh! There must be something to convince you I'm innocent!"

Izzy thought for a second, trying to think of an idea. Then, it hit him.

"Derek!" he exclaimed, snapping his fingers. "Of course! This can all be cleared up if we met face-to-face! I'm sure this is all one big misunderstanding. So... can I see him?"

The agent shook his head. "Unfortunately, no."

"No? But didn't you say..."

"He was here, but he was moved to the local maximum security prison for holding overnight."

"This guy claims I'm the ringleader of this terrorist group and you can't even have him stick around long enough to get a positive I.D. on me in person? That's just ludicrous!"

"Well, the evidence against you is rock solid."

"No, it's not! You must be blind, because there is absolutely, positively no way that Derek... uh, Dingo, is not telling the truth about me! No way!"

Leaning back, the agent looked as if he was giving up.

"I wonder if he's starting to believe me," Izzy thought.

Suddenly, two police officers entered the room. They headed right over to Izzy, one of them producing a pair of handcuffs, which had been clipped to his pocket.

"I see," Izzy stated, realizing the obvious as he put his hands on top of his head.

"All of this could've been avoided if you just admitted that you're guilty," the agent said as he got up out of his seat and watched Izzy's hands get cuffed, one at a time. "Maybe a night behind bars will give you a chance to clear the cobwebs out. Maybe come morning, you'll tell us what we want to hear."

"Even if I told you what you wanted to hear, I would've known that it wasn't the truth. I take the fall and everybody's happy, right?"

The agent's face was unmoving as Izzy was pulled out of his seat and escorted towards the door.

"No matter what happens to me, the truth will be found! It could take one day, or it could take one century! Somebody will prove I'm telling the truth. You can bet on that!"

Izzy and the agent exchanged angry glares once more before the officers pulled the Digidestined out of the room.

* * *

Digital World's Northern Quadrant, Sector 7.19

Patamon, Gatomon, and Veemon had finished searching what was left of the village that Honda and his Gizamon had torn up, especially since they hadn't found any more survivors in some time. But, for some reason, they couldn't return to the real world. TK, Kari, and Davis had left them behind, and the sector's Digi-port was destroyed in all the destruction around them.

They had been wandering from sector to sector, trying to find a way back. But with each new place they found, they located a Digi-port that was either damage beyond repair or inaccessible for some other reason. And with each passing village, they were getting more worried about what was happening.

Especially Gatomon. She had this nagging feeling that Kari was in trouble. And yet, none of the Digidestined have even tried to get in contact with her. Suffice to say, she thought it was very suspicious.

"I know something's amiss," Gatomon told her traveling partners. "Kari and the others need us, and we can't even get to them!"

"Don't worry!" Veemon said cheerfully. "We'll get back! You'll see!"

"And everything will be perfectly fine!" added Patamon.

Gatomon glanced down at the ground and sadly sighed. "I hope so."

* * *

United Nations Building, New York City, approximately 10:00 am EST

The assembly was still in session as Jindra Maseroon, the East Antarctican representative, and Abigail O'Neil, the United States delegate, were still barbing back and forth over the details while most of the rest of the UN body watched. But notably absent from the proceedings was Tai Kamiya.

The Japanese representative had stepped out for a moment, and he was talking away on his cell phone with his assistant, Stacy.

"What do you mean you still haven't found Mimi?" Tai shrieked.

"She wasn't at the television studio," Stacy told him. "And not at home either."

"What? Then where could she be?"

"You're the Digidestined! Can't you, like, buzz her or something like that?"

"It doesn't work that way!"

Tai then promptly hung up on Stacy.

"Man... where could she be? I hope nothing's happened to her. Then again..."

Tai began to ponder where the Digidestined of Sincerity had wandered off to. But if she was in serious trouble, one of the other 'destined would've let him know.

Right?

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Whew... finally got through that monster of a chapter. Did you guys manage to keep track of the names of all of the Digidestined's family members? Here's a quick recap of everyone that was revealed this episode and some notes.

Sakura - Izzy's wife: This ties into their daughter being Chiharu, as both of them are monikers of the 'Cardcaptor Sakura' characters of the same name. So you can basically think of Sakura as a Digimon-version of Sakura Kinomoto if she was an adult.

Sasuke - TK's son: Named after Sasuke of 'Naruto,' but his personality is the opposite... playful and cheerful. On a related note, he's staying at his friend Ichi's house, Ichi named after the good-at-everything boy from Episode 2 of 'Paranoia Agent.' You should've caught that reference when TK called his son by his nickname... Lil' Slugger. Add to the fact that Ichi's family name is Kusanagi, named after Major Kusanagi of 'Ghost in the Shell,' and you've got what's supposedly one messed-up family.

Agatha, Watson, and Mason - Ken and Yolei's children: Tied into Ken's career as a detective, their kids are named after famous detectives. Agatha Christie, Dr. John H. Watson, and Perry Mason, to be exact, all names you should recognize if you're a mystery fan. Maybe I should've had Yolei pick one of the names... Watson would've probably become Conan, of 'Detective Conan,' but there's already too many anime homage references in this fic.

Shinobu and Mai - Cody's wife and daughter, respectively: Speaking of which, Cody's wife Shinobu is based off the shy bluenette of 'Love Hina.' In fact, probably a dead ringer for her. Mai is not based off of someone in particular, but I found it more interesting to have her be the opposite of Shinobu, being exuberant and the like. I wanted to capture the excitement of her character as it was shown in the future clip at the end of Season Two... Mai being extremely interested in Cody's profession in the legal business.

Sadly, this turned out to be an episode where I couldn't fit everything in, and so now I'm holding stuff off until next episode. For example... if you were paying attention, the only Digidestined relative that has not been revealed yet is Tai's son. That might actually be a good thing, for I haven't thought of a name yet.

**Next Episode - Missing in Action No More**  
Matt and Sora are still intent on finding something that proves Izzy's innocence, while Ryo wants to perform his own investigation on a more pressing matter to him. Meanwhile, fishy goings-on about East Antarctica spur Honda and his team back into action... but where?


	20. Missing in Action No More

"The Circle of the Digidestined," written by Freedom Fighter 

Disclaimer: None of the characters, human or Digimon, belong to me, the writer.

Author's Warning: The following fanfic features gruesome character death, both of the human and Digimon kind, violence of varying levels, some profane language, and some suggestive situations. Please do not read this fanfic if you're underage or feel that you cannot handle any of said features.

This particular episode features some profanity.

* * *

Somewhere outside the city of Osaka, 12:15 am JST

A pair of headlights filled an otherwise empty road, the car of which they belonged to started slowing to a stop. The six individuals inside were a little bit surprised that the building they had stopped out was, of all places, a hot springs resort.

"What the?" Matt asked with surprise. "Sora honey, are you sure this is the right place?"

"It should be... I followed Chiharu's directions exactly as she told me!" exclaimed an exasperated Sora. "But this doesn't make any sense! She told us we were going to a shelter, not a hot springs resort!"

"Mommy, what's a hot springs resort?" Sam asked curiously.

"It's a place where people go to relax their bodies and their minds."

"But is it safe from outsiders and would-be attackers?" Matt wondered.

Matt was then shocked to hear a car door open. Being in the rear passenger seat behind his wife, he looked to her right and saw Sakura hopping out and scrambling towards the resort entrance.

"Chiharu!" Sakura called out. "Chiharu, are you here?"

"We don't know if it's safe here yet!" Matt yelled.

Biyomon quickly flied out the open door to chase down Sakura, while Matt and Sora unbuckled their safety belts and both motioned as if to follow. But Matt quickly objected, grabbing Sora by the shoulder.

"Wait! Let me go! Stay here and watch the kids!"

Sora complied and sat back down as Matt jumped out of the car. Michelle and Sam undid their belts and tried to hop out as well. But by that point Sora had already managed to lock the doors, keeping them inside.

"What you are two thinking? It's dangerous outside!"

"But we wanna see the hot springs!" the siblings shouted together.

* * *

Bursting through the front door, Sakura was in a panic as her eyes hastily searched the room for any sign of her only daughter. Though she didn't see her at all, she did spot the front desk. As well as the old woman snoozing behind it.

"Excuse me, but I'm looking for my little girl!" Sakura shouted, waking the innkeeper from her slumber. "Have you seen her? Eight years old, with chestnut brown, eh, reddish hair? Intelligent for her age?"

"Hmmm..." the old woman sputtered, "let me think..."

"Mrs. Izumi!" Biyomon gasped as she flew in through the front door. "You have to be more careful!"

"Any sign of Chiharu?" Matt asked, bounding in right behind the Digimon.

"Not yet..."

"Mama-san?"

Sakura turned around and saw her daughter walking up to her. Her hair was unbraided and she was wearing a yellow bathrobe and matching-colored sandals.

"Oh my goodness, Chiharu-chan, thank goodness you're alright!" Sakura sighed with relief as she ran over to pick Chiharu up and give her a big hug. "I was so worried, with everything that's happened today."

"We'll be alright now, Mama-san, now that the Digidestined are here to protect us!"

Matt laughed as he and Biyomon walked over. "Yeah... we're all safe now. Trust us. Nothing's going to happen to anyone else from here on out!"

**Episode Twenty - Missing in Action No More (06.20.06)**

Mere minutes later, Chiharu took the group of six to a group of rooms on the western edge of the resort. In one room they find the rest of their fellow travelers, already relaxing in comfortable robes and downing refreshments of various sorts. Sora and Sakura were in shock at seeing a bottle of sake sitting in the middle of the room open, especially with little kids around.

"You... you guys are drinking with children about?" gasped Sakura.

"How can you all be so irresponsible?" reprimanded Sora to the adults.

"You aren't the boss of us!" yelled June, who was already looking tipsy.

"You have the gall to say that?" slurred Dora, who was in a similar state. "I don't even let my spiky-haired husband talk that way to me!"

Tentomon was running all around the room, being chased endlessly by Akio, Davis Jr., John, and Gabumon. Chiharu ran off to join them, much to Sakura's surprise. Ryo was slouched in the nearest corner, looking up into space. He seemed out of it, though the glass next to him on the floor was nearly full.

"What kind of responsible man are you anyway?" Sora shouted. "Letting these kids run wild and these women drink like there's no tomorrow?"

"They haven't had as much as you think," Ryo said, reassuring them.

"Why aren't you drinking?" Matt asked, pointing to Ryo's glass.

"I'm not much of a drinker. Never liked the stuff. I just poured myself a glass so they'd stop asking me to have a drinking contest with them."

"And you let them?"

"Hey, I don't have much experience drinking, but I do have a lot with knowing when people around me have taken a sip too much. June and Dora look like they could go another half-dozen shots or so."

"Is this what a woman does when she's not loved?" Sakura scratched her head, befuddled.

Sora sweatdropped. "Usually, we just hang out at karaoke bars."

Matt glanced around the room. "Hey, Sor... where are the kids?"

"Huh? They were right behind me..."

She glanced back down the hall, half-expecting her worst fear to come true. That they had disappeared and ran off somewhere. So imagine her shock when she saw them about seventy feet away, sitting on the ground with backs to each other, fast asleep. Biyomon was laid out in front of them, also snoozing.

"Whew... was about to say there..."

"Your kids must've had a long day," commented Sakura.

"Tell me about it," Sora stated, rolling her eyes.

"We'd better put them to bed," Matt said. "As well as the rest of the kids. It's late as it is."

"But first... why did your daughter pick this place, Sakura?"

"I... I really don't know. I didn't even know a place like this was located so close to Izzy's office."

"I can explain, Mama-san!" Chiharu said excitedly, taking a break from chasing Gabumon. "You see, you're paying for it!"

"Wha?" Sakura nearly doubled over and fainted at her daughter's statement. But before she could, Chiharu continued.

"Or to be more specific, the rooms are being paid with a credit card under your name. One with a very hefty limit."

"How come I didn't know about this?"

"Well, Papa-san wanted to keep it a secret! Besides, it was for emergency purposes only! And our current situation definitely qualifies."

"So he expects me to pay for all of these accommodations?"

"That's the best part! The card's under your name, but he's making all of the payments thanks to his monthly bonuses! So everything's on him!"

"Really? He really did all that for us?"

"Izzy's always been kind-hearted," Matt said to Sakura. "Blinded by his work with computers a bit too much, but he's got a heart of gold behind all of those circuits of his."

"You're lucky to have a great husband like Izzy," smiled Sora.

"I... I know!" nodded Sakura.

"So... let's get those kids to bed!" Matt said, walking out to get Sam and Michelle.

"Wait," Sora wondered. "Where are Jean and Tentomon?"

* * *

"This is embarrassing!" blushed Tentomon, sitting in front of a screen door leading to one of the springs, with Jean's clothes scattered about all around him. "Do I look like a guardian of garments?"

* * *

Digital World's Northern Quadrant, Sector 7.15

Agumon climbed his way to the top of a hill, and once there he got a birds-eye view of a recently destroyed Digimon village. Palmon and Gomamon seemed equally shocked at all of the debris that lied below them. They also noticed scores of Digimon, mostly Floramon, limping about or gathering what little remained of their shattered lives.

"Is this the place where Patamon and the others went?" Palmon thought out loud. "It's a disaster area!"

"You don't think they..." suggested Gomamon, trembling with fear.

"They couldn't have!" Agumon exclaimed. "They're alive! Come on... let's see if we can get these Floramon to point us in the right direction."

The trio made their way down the hill, observing the remnants of the village as they did. Though by this point all of the fires had been put out, some of the huts still had clouds of smoke coming from them, as the last of the sparks were burning out. Doing a quick count in his head, Agumon noticed about four dozen Digimon in the area. All but a few of them were Floramon, and many were in bad shape.

Agumon stopped in front of a threesome who had bruises on them, but otherwise looked relatively healthy compared to the rest of their kin. Gomamon gave them the once over as Palmon began questioning them.

"Are you Floramon alright? What happened here?"

"We were attacked," one of the Floramon spoke up. "There was this man. He had a red shirt on, and he was with a Gizamon. They tore this place up! Our village... it's gone!"

"Tell us," Agumon cut in, "did you happen to see a Patamon pass by here? He might've been with a Gatomon and a Veemon?"

"Uh-huh! In fact, they saved us from being buried alive under a grove of fallen trees! If not for them, I don't know what would've become of us."

"Do you know where they went?"

"One of the others saw them head east after those Digimon's human partners tried to battle those home wreckers! But they weren't with the humans that came here with them."

Palmon growled. "We know what happened to them. We just want to find the Digimon!"

"Could you please help us?" pleaded Agumon.

"And tell us if they're still alive?" asked Gomamon.

"We really don't know. We'd like to help more, but as you can see, we have to tend to what we have left."

The trio nodded. Palmon and Gomamon then started heading off due east. Agumon started to follow them, but stopped and turned to face the Floramon once again.

"Don't worry... help will be here soon. There's a team of Digimon researchers and doctors following us. They'll make sure to get you all back on your feet."

The Floramon smiled, thanking the stars that they would live through this.

"Thank you!"

Agumon bowed before the Floramon, then ran off to catch up to Palmon and Gomamon.

"Figure the stuffy old military general will stop to help them?" assumed Palmon.

Agumon nodded affirmatively. "If Catherine and Floramon are with them, she'll make sure they stop. That should get them off our tail for awhile."

"Meanwhile, we've got to find Patamon and the others!" exclaimed Gomamon. "They've gotta be okay... they just gotta!"

* * *

Back at the hot springs resort, Matt and Sora were preparing to go back out after having successfully put all the kids to bed. Sakura was with them, worried about the couple going out this late and all alone.

"You two were all worried about making sure me and Chiharu-chan and the others were safe, but now you're going back out there?"

"We know how to take care of ourselves," Matt told her.

"Besides, you have the Digimon here to protect you," Sora said in reminder.

"Out here in the middle of nowhere, and with no computers or other ways to access the Digital World for miles, you all are perfectly safe."

"Just why are you two risking your lives like this anyway, just for my Izzy?"

"Izzy is just as important to you as he is to Sora and I, as well as the other Digidestined. We need to find out who levied these charges against him."

Sora clenched her fists with confidence. "I just know someone's trying to frame poor Izzy, but I can't figure out why."

"It definitely has something to do with that group that's been terrorizing the real world and the Digiworld, that's for sure."

"We'll do whatever it takes to get him out of the slammer!"

"Thank you!" Sakura said, bowing to them. "You don't know how much this means to Chiharu-chan and I."

"Exactly..." a male voice said from behind her.

Matt and Sora glanced past Sakura and saw Ryo standing there in the lobby.

"I'm going with you two," he told them.

"But we need someone to protect the women and children!" yelled Sora.

"The Digimon can handle anything that might happen here. Besides... I want to get my hands on the lowlife scum that killed my wife!"

"All we're doing now is trying to prove Izzy's innocence. We're not concerned about going after those guys right now."

"But that's just it, Matt! If someone did plant false evidence on Izzy, then that someone must be connected to these guys! This is a golden opportunity to really make them pay for what they've done!"

"Didn't you hear Matt?" Sora nearly exploded. "Stop making this a case of personal..."

Matt stepped in to stop his wife from speaking a word. He then glanced over at Ryo.

"I can tell that nothing we say will stop you from coming with us, so..."

Ryo smirked as he stepped forward and right past the two Digidestined.

"Well, let's go and get this show on the road!"

"Are you sure about this?" Sora whispered to Matt as they followed Ryo out.

"Not really... but we could use the extra muscle if something happens..."

"I'd rather prefer this be an uneventful trip, if possible..." Sora said.

Taking Sakura's car, Matt made his way to the driver's seat with Sora riding shotgun and Ryo hopping in the back.

"So, where to?" Ryo asked.

"The best place to get evidence," Matt replied back. "Back at the lab."

Matt started the engine and began driving out of the parking lot. As he headed back to the road, he couldn't help but notice Ryo scowling in the back seat thanks to his rear view mirror.

"Only one of these Digidestined would have the motive to want my beloved dead," Ryo said to himself. "And only one has been on the dark side before. If anyone's suspicious, it's him. I just have to figure out a way how to get to him..."

* * *

Osaka Harbor Detention Center

Already dressed in brown prison garb and handcuffed at the wrists and ankles, thus limiting his mobility, Izzy was led into a cell block filled with rooms that were closed off to the open world.

"Isn't this a little much?" Izzy asked the guard noticing he was in the 'solitary confinement' section.

"It's too late to put you in a regular cell right now, with lights out being hours ago," the guard said in return. "Don't worry... being cut off from light and other people for a few hours isn't that bad."

The two of them stopped in front of a door, which Izzy quickly deduced where he was staying for night.

"OPEN ON I-SIX!"

The door slowly slid open, revealing the dark and dank crawlspace that was so affectionately being referred to as a cell. Izzy stepped in, followed by the guard.

"Don't try anything funny," he said as he reached for the keys to the cuffs. "There's a camera right above the door."

Izzy nodded as he had his restraints taken off. The guard then exited the room.

"CLOSE ON I-SIX!"

He turned about and watched as the door shut itself in front of Izzy.

* * *

It didn't take long for Matt, Sora, and Ryo to get back to the Digimon Research Laboratory. But they hadn't driven up to the front gate. In fact, they had pulled over to the side of the road about half a mile beforehand. The dark blue Toyota Corolla was empty, and nearby the trio was seen taking refuge in the surrounding forest.

"So, what are we doing here in the bushes again?" questioned Ryo.

"We can't exactly go in the front door," Sora replied.

"You mean... we're going to find a way to sneak in?"

"Yep! As a famous fashion designer who often gets a few over-obsessed fans a bit too close to comfort, I've always got to know an unusual escape route or too."

"You know," Matt interrupted, "you wouldn't have that problem if you would just hire a bodyguard or two."

"But doing that would make me look, as one reporter put it, 'holier than thou,'" Sora shot back, emphasizing the last bit with 'air quotes.'

"Okay, Sydney Bristow, lead the way! Which way do we go?"

Sora stopped for a minute to think, then point-blank admitted, "Uh... actually, I hadn't thought that far ahead."

Ryo was taken aback. "What? Then what's the point of us being sneaky then?"

Sora glanced at Matt. "Actually, I was hoping a certain someone with connections could figure that part out."

Matt laughed and shook his head. "You women. You want to do everything yourself, yet you still need a man to guide you."

"Just get to work, Mr. Man," Sora giggled, playfully punching Matt in the shoulder.

Matt pulled out his D-3 and went to work contacting a certain 'friend.'

* * *

Somewhere halfway across the world...

"Hey... hey!" a raspy voice said, tugging at somebody's bed sheets.

In the darkness of an underground room, a Gizamon was struggling to get his master up and out of bed. After a few more tugs, his partner came to life, muttering some obscenity as he reached out to whack the snooze button on his alarm clock.

Only instead of knocking the clock silly, he ended up clocking Gizamon.

"Ow! What did ya do that for?"

Groggily realizing what he had done, Honda sat up to see Gizamon sitting on the ground next to him, favoring his head. Honda then freaked out when he figured out how close he had come to his fist coming down on the topmost spike on Gizamon's back.

"Don't scare me like that!" Honda hollered.

"I could say the same to you!"

"What did you wake me up for? You know we had been up all night... it's only about ten thirty!"

"Yeah... but the boss has another job for us all to do. He says it's very important that it's taken care of immediately."

"Fine, fine."

Honda clambered his way out of bed to get dressed and see what was up.

* * *

A few minutes later, Honda and Gizamon were in the main chamber and in 'uniform,' so to speak. They saw that Blue and Yellow, as well as their Digimon, Betamon and Mushroommon, were already waiting for them.

"You're late!" Blue shouted angrily.

"Maybe," responded Honda, uh, Red, "but I'm not the last one here!"

"Are you still asleep or something? Green's on assignment in Japan, taking care of a... problem with the Digidestined."

"He's... he's not gonna kill another one of them, is he?"

Blue marched up to Red and started shouting at him in his face.

"ARE YOU GETTING SOFT NOW? YOU KNOW WHEN WE ALL BECAME A PART OF THIS THAT WE WERE TAKING LIVES! DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE BACKING OUT OF THIS AFTER WE KILLED YOUR EX-GIRLFRIEND!"

"We didn't kill her," mumbled Red. "You did."

"Will you guys chill?" pleaded Yellow. "The boss is gonna call any sec..."

At that point, all three of the men's D-3s began to ring and flash light. Turning them on, they were greeted with a projection of their leader, Jindra. As he wanted to be known by them, White.

"Speak of the devil," Mushroommon commented.

"Humph," Jindra said in response. "Nice to see you all up."

"What's going on, man?" Red asked defiantly. "We're all trying to rest up, like you wanted us to!"

"Yes, I apologize for that. But I need you all for a job. One that if not taken care of post-haste will jeopardize the chances of our master plan from being successful!"

"And that being?"

White smirked. "East Antarctica!"

The group gasped with surprise.

"But sir," Mushroommon spoke up, "isn't that the country you're representing?"

"Yeah," Yellow added, "the one you're fighting for?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," White tsked the pair. "That's what I want everyone to think. But you see, that was never my intention at all. All along, this was to get back at the only people in live who have ever betrayed my trust. The government of East Antarctica!"

"What did they ever do to you?"

"Plenty. Which is why I must make them pay for their misdeeds."

"So, what do you want us to do?" asked Blue, eager for something new to do. "Is that American representative getting too nosy? Well, we can off that bitch no problem."

"Why would we want to take the life of another innocent?" Red cut in.

"Why don't you stop being such a goody two-shoes? You didn't used to have a thing for her too, did you?"

"Calm down, Red and Blue!" yelled White. "If you're worried about her, I assure you that killing her does not help us at all. In fact, that hurts us. Let her be nosy for know... she's of no importance. Besides, what I have planned is much larger."

"Okay... care to explain?"

"Have you guys ever heard of... air-to-surface nuclear missiles?"

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Hmmm... don't think there's all that much to explain this week.

You may have noticed that there hasn't been any Digimon battles in awhile. Surprising since this is a Digimon fanfic, huh? Don't worry for those of you who have gotten bored... there's some great fights coming up real soon, so hang in there!

Sora akin to Sydney Bristow of 'Alias' fame? Maybe. Kim Possible would've been my choice, but she's not age-appropriate to someone in their late thirties like Sora. Which reminds me... I have no idea why I never became a fan of 'Alias' since that show and 'Kim Possible' are very similar, at least from a spy/secret agent standpoint.

**Next Episode - Caught!**  
Patamon, Gatomon, and Veemon catch up with reality when Agumon tells them of what has happened to their partners since they last saw them. A Digidestined's check-up on his family goes wrong when somebody storms their house! And speaking of mysteries... where's Mimi?


	21. Caught!

"The Circle of the Digidestined," written by Freedom Fighter 

Disclaimer: None of the characters, human or Digimon, belong to me, the writer.

Author's Warning: The following fanfic features gruesome character death, both of the human and Digimon kind, violence of varying levels, some profane language, and some suggestive situations. Please do not read this fanfic if you're underage or feel that you cannot handle any of said features.

* * *

The mansion of East Antarctican Representative Jindra Maseroon, 10:35 am EST

"Blizzard-like conditions are still glaringly apparent as you can see," stated the blonde-haired television reporter. "The storm stumps all scientific logic, as it has been hovering over the capital city of Zan Konolchuck for nearly 12 hours now and shows no signs of letting up or moving off. Communications are impossible within a 10-mile radius of the city center... in fact, I'm lucky enough to be able to get this report through given I'm only a few hundred feet outside of that range.

"East Antarctican forces from the cities of Suzuhara and New Tanzu have been gathering for the past few hours, assessing the situation and preparing to go in to check on both the country's central government and its officials. Many of the regional government branches are on high alert and planning for the worst-case scenario, though there is no reason to believe that the President and his staff have a lack of functionability at this time.

"Also unconfirmed are rumblings that this is not a natural phenomenon, but instead someone is purposefully pinning down the central government. There is no proof to back up that claim, and the government officials who made it aren't elaborating on it at this time. But we do know that less than three hours ago, East Antarctica had announced it had declared war on the United States. The surprising thing about that is that no official has confirmed or denied that declaration. Despite the current situation of Zan Konolchuck and the central government, you'd think such a statement would be clarified..."

Red, Blue, Yellow, Gizamon, Betamon, and Mushroommon were all watching the report on TV, amazed at what was happening and stumped as to what this had to do with their master plan.

"So you made it snow in East Antarctica?" Yellow asked. "What's so special about that?"

Red answered his query. "It's because even in Zan Konolchuck at this time of year, snowstorms this big are unnatural. Apparently, our great leader had wanted to pin down the East Antarctica government for awhile."

"Yes," confirmed White. "My intention was to disable the country's leaders in order to leave them vulnerable to an attack."

Red blinked his eyes, somewhat confused. "An... attack?"

"So that would explain why you're asking us about air-to-surface missiles," Blue smirked slyly. "You planning on blowing the place to kingdom come?"

White stared at Blue for a second or two, smiled, then laughed maniacally. Red and Yellow both gasped in shock.

"This is what you've been planning all along?" Red asked, freaked out.

"I knew we were fighting for justice, but this..." Yellow stated, quaking in his shoes.

"I'm not sure I can condemn the lives of so many innocent people," growled Mushroommon.

"Is this really necessary?" Betamon asked, looking up at his partner.

"This isn't what you promised us!" Gizamon exclaimed.

"I agree!" Red spoke up. "I thought the purpose of our plan was to achieve the means through peaceful resolution, using extreme force only as a last resort!"

Blue snickered. "Then you obviously don't know our boss real well, do you?"

"Then you mean... all of the people and Digimon we've killed so far..."

"No," interjected White. "They weren't all planned. Most, but not all. Despite that, every single one of those lives were necessary to get us to this point. And now we're ready to make the ultimate coup d'etat...

"By ensuring the destruction of East Antarctica!"

**Episode Twenty-One - Caught! (07.06.06)**

"Why your homeland?" Red asked. "Why do you want to destroy your own people?"

"I want to destroy them for what they did to me! For what... they made me become..."

Reaching up to his forehead, White began to tug at his skin. Slowly but surely, it began to peel away as if it were a rubber mask. The whole gang cringed in fear, not knowing what to expect as the elastic faceplate gave way to their leader's true self...

"You're..." Yellow gasped, "You're an alien!"

"Unbelievable," Red and Gizamon remarked simultaneously.

The group was staring at their commander and his aquamarine-colored skin. Seeing their shock, White smiled and slipped his 'human skin' back on.

"It shouldn't be... remember, the East Antarcticans originate from Neptune. And breeding on Earth has been limited to partners within our own race... with very rare exceptions here and there."

"But that doesn't answer the question," prodded Red again. "Why do you want to destroy your own people?"

"He already answered that, dipwad!" exclaimed Blue.

"You see, Honda... when the Neptunians came to Earth in 2015, they wanted the transition to go as smooth as possible. Both for us and all the residents of Earth.

"As part of the negotiations with many of the world powers for establishing a habitat on this planet, our leaders were forced to mask our identities from the general populace. The idea was to generally ease the citizens of Earth into the fact that we, as outsiders to their way of life, could reside peacefully with them despite our... looks. That, and the fact that humans have a tendency to be fearful of that which they do not understand. But as hard as it was for our race to keep our identities a secret, it was even harder for the governments of the world to figure out a way to reveal our existence without upsetting them too much.

"As you know, that reveal came just a few years ago, in 2024. Before that, we Neptunians were forbidden to travel to anywhere on Earth but East Antarctica, for fear of giving away our true selves before the planet was ready to accept us for what we were. Surprisingly, after the initial shock, the people of Earth seemed very welcoming. Sure, there were the occasional country or two that developed a prejudice against us. But the big revelation went over a lot better than our leaders had predicted beforehand.

"Still, in order to keep our people safe when present in a city not in the Antarctican confines, we are required to wear these plaster faces in order to mask our true identities. But I ask you... why must we hide our faces in order to feel accepted by the people of Earth? Our existence is practically acknowledged by every developed country on the planet! So why must we keep our cultures and beliefs to ourselves when no such restrictions are placed upon anyone else? Even worse, those restrictions were applied upon us by our own government officials! Do they not believe in the goodness of Earth's hearts? Of our hearts?"

"So you're basically fighting for the right to walk around as you please," Yellow asked, "without the need to hide in fear, as your own government would lead you to believe?"

White smirked. "Isn't that what we all want in life... to be accepted by everyone? Or... at least by everyone that wants to accept us?"

"We didn't come to Earth just to isolate ourselves from everyone else!" Blue announced. "We want to be a part of this planet just like the people who lived here for centuries! But our country's leader..."

"He sees no need to trust the people of Earth, despite the willingness of other countries to learn to accept the presence of peaceful alien races such as ours."

"You're still not making any sense!" objected Red.

"Despite his shortcomings about everything we've done so far..." Yellow interjected, "I have to agree with Red. Suddenly, all of our actions seem radical and unneeded. I fail to see how convincing your own government the error of their ways couldn't have been done through peaceful means."

"They don't listen to reason!" yelled Blue angrily.

"Somehow, I find that hard to believe."

"I agree," added Red.

"So... you two are now against us?" Blue asked.

"Nothing we've done over the course of this past day feels justified!" Red exclaimed. "Our hands are bloodied with the stains of hundreds of innocents!"

"Stop babbling your nonsense!"

"Nonsense?" queried Yellow, coming to Red's defense. "The lies you two have been feeding us since the beginning come to a stop here and now! I no longer wish to take part in such a heartless cause. You two are free to continue this useless crusade if you so desire. It's not my place to stop you."

"What?" Red questioned. "But... they're about to kill more innocents..."

"Maybe so, my friend... but that's no longer my concern."

"So you're still condoning their deaths even though you refuse to have a hand in it?"

"I'm not condoning anything, Honda, as long as I'm not part of the plot."

"Don't you get what Red's saying, Yellow?" Blue yelled again. "You know about our true plans... that fact cannot be changed, regardless of whether either of you continue on with us or not. But you must also realize that if you attempt to stop us by means of informing the authorities, you implicate yourselves in everything that's already happened."

Honda and Yellow gasped in dismay. The Digimon seemed confused and, at the same time, frightened, as they didn't know where their allegiance at this point stood.

"Blue is right," White told them. "Divulging our plan now may stop us from carrying out our true intentions. But you two have been involved up to this point... and you're responsible for your roles in everything that we've done."

"But that's not fair!" objected Honda. "We never had the intention of killing so many innocents."

Yellow placed a hand over Honda's mouth to stop him. "The fact of the matter is, our 'boss' is telling the truth. It wasn't part of our plan, but it happened. We may stop Mr. Jindra's plot from reaching its goal... but we will spend the rest of our lives in jail. And that's if we're lucky."

Mr. Jindra, uh, White, shook his head. "If you know what awaits you by following that route, then why go through with it? See my plan through to the end, and I assure you... I'll make sure that all the charges are dropped. None of you will ever be implicated in the fall of the East Antarctican government!"

"Is that even possible?"

"Oh, it's possible, Mr. Honda. And all you have to do is agree to see the plan to the end."

"Can we even trust these losers anymore?" Blue asked. "Why don't we just kill them right now? It's the only way to assure our plan goes off without a hitch."

Yellow smiled. "Don't underestimate us."

He then glanced over towards his Digimon partner.

"Mushroommon, defensive position!"

Mushroommon nodded, then took his place in front of his master. Honda glanced over at his partner and motioned him to do the same.

"To me, Gizamon!"

In response to seeing his fellow brethren take sides with their partners, Betamon instinctively goes to Blue's side to protect him.

"We'll take you both out if we have to!" shouted Yellow, to Honda's surprise.

"But..."

Yellow looked to Honda. "We have no choice! Unless we want to rot in prison for the rest of our lives, our only other option is to get rid of the rest of the team! Once they're finished, we go our separate ways and hide in solitude. No one ever has to know of what we've done or what we were planning to do.

"It's the only way we'll have a future."

Honda wasn't happy of the conclusion Yellow had come to, but by the second he became aware that not only was Yellow telling the truth, but that he was serious about going through with his declaration.

"As much as it pains me... you're right. And this shouldn't matter... their lives aren't exactly innocent, you know?"

"Oh, I'm so scared," Blue responded in fright. Mock fright, apparently, as he frowned at his two ex-teammates. "Don't you know who you're dealing with?"

"Electric Stun Blast!"

One flash of light later, Honda and Yellow were on the receiving end of a paralyzing shock, courtesy of a Gazimon. Jindra's Gazimon.

"He's here?" winced Yellow.

"What kind of fool do you take me for, gentlemen?" laughed Jindra as he saw his Gazimon walk in from the doorway.

"We're not done yet! Mushroomon, Fungus Crusher!"

Mushroommon launched his attack at Gazimon, but then he suddenly turned about and aimed right at Yellow. Too close to even attempt a dodge, Yellow was knocked clear across the room. He was knocked out instantly upon hitting the opposing wall.

"Yellow!" Red jumped, wanting to run over and help his fallen comrade. Unfortunately, Gizamon was standing in his way.

"I'm sorry," Gizamon said apologetically, eyes focused on his former partner. "But don't move or I'll be forced to hurt you."

"Gizamon..." gasped Honda, teary-eyed.

"Mr. Jindra gave these Digimon to us, remember?" reminded Blue. "None of us raised them at all! They all listen to his orders! They supersede any directives you might give them!"

"S... say it isn't so."

"If you're smart, you'll stop your foolishness while you have the chance."

Gizamon, Gazimon, Mushroomon, and Betamon surrounded Honda, all ready to attack him at a moment's notice. Honda was cornered, and there was nothing he could do about it.

* * *

Digital World's Northern Quadrant, Sector 7.20

"Well, the trail ends here," noted Patamon.

Sure enough, Patamon, Gatomon, and Veemon had reached the 'deep end' of Sector 7, a mountain range where there were no direct paths to any other part of the Digital World. Other than the way they had come in, of course. Deciding that they had wandered aimlessly for several hours now with still no way of getting to the real world, the trio plopped down onto the ground to take a good, long break.

"Why can't we find an open Digi-port anywhere?" cried Gatomon.

"It's very strange!" commented Veemon. "I've never known to be this long without contact with Davish. At least, not in a situations such as this."

"It's times like these that made me wish this part of the Digiworld wasn't so underdeveloped," Patamon said, referring to the grassy, yet barren land about them. "You'd think there'd be a map seller or something like that around here."

"I really hate to say it," Gatomon said with worry, "but Kari and the others must be in a whole lot of trouble. For them not to be in contact with us for so long..."

Patamon shook his head in dismay. "No way! I refuse to believe they're gone! The Digidestined have never fallen in times of need!"

* * *

"I've fallen and I can't get up!"

Gomamon fell to the ground in exhaustion, pooped from all of the walking he had done. Palmon sat down on the ground to his left, massaging her worn out paws with her own vines.

"My corns are killing me!" cried Palmon.

"Come on, guys!" urged Agumon. "You know how important it is that we find Patamon and the others! We gotta let 'em know what's going on and get back to the real world to help Tai and the gang!"

"But what if they've already found a portal back and we just don't know about it? We haven't been in contact with the others since we got here!"

"They're here somewhere, I just know it!" Agumon clinched his fists in determination. "Tell you what... you two rest here for a few minutes. We're on the 'deep end' of Sector 7, and the path we came in on is the only way in or out. If I don't see them, we'll just double back and regroup."

"No arguments here!" Gomamon said.

"Just be careful, okay?" Palmon added.

Agumon nodded, then ran off, unaware that he was much closer to Patamon and the others than he knew.

* * *

United Nations Building, Second Floor

Stacy Compton pounded her desk in frustration, with index cards from her rolodex strewn all over it and on the floor. With East Antarctica's declaration of war on the United States, this morning had been anything but normal for the assistant to the UN representative of Japan.

And it seemed as if the problems continued to stockpile...

"How hard can it be to find one of the Big Apple's most famous chefs?" she asked herself aloud. "It's like Mimi Tachikawa disappeared off the face of the Earth! Her husband hasn't seen her in a few hours, and she said she was off to work, yet the TV studio said she never showed up! I called all the places she's known to hang out, but no dice either! To make matters worse, I can't get in touch with any of the Digidestined! Do they all turn off their D-3s during the day or what?"

Suddenly, the phone began to ring. Stacy reached over and answered it, knocking a few stray cards out of the way in the process.

"You've reached the office of Tai Kamiya, representative of Japan to the United Nations! This is Stacy, how may I direct your call?"

"Stacy, it's me!" she heard Tai yell at her. "Any progress on Mimi?"

"No, sir. It's like she vanished!"

She heard Tai grumble on the other hand. "She knows we're in a crisis... could she have been that dumb to have gone out without her D-3?"

"Maybe we should call the police. If she's gone missing..."

"Not yet, Stacy! We can't be sure this is foul play as of yet. Let's leave this between us for the time being."

"Okay..."

"In the meantime, can you connect me to my house?"

Stacy blinked, confused. "B-but... couldn't you directly call them from your phone?"

"Don't ask questions, JUST DO IT!"

"Yes, sir, right away, sir!"

"And follow standard procedure number five, okay?"

"Of course!"

Stacy complied with her boss' orders without a second thought. Seconds later, she was ready as she dialed up the number to the Kamiya household...

* * *

A phone was seen ringing loudly in a suburban Jersey household. The sound of someone in high heels running towards it filled the air. A hand reached over and finally brought the ringing to halt by picking up the receiver.

"H-hello?" stammered a female voice.

"Honey?"

The voice cried out with jubilation. It was Tai's brunette wife, Peg. "Tai, it's you! Thank goodness!"

"Everything alright?"

"Yes... but was sending all of these cops over completely necessary? Jake and I are completely frightened with all of them wandering around!"

Suddenly, Jake came running into the room, making 'whoosh' and 'grrrr' noises as he held a red dragon action figure in one hand and what looked to be a Barbie doll in the other.

"Help me, oh please!" cried 'Barbie.'

"Don't cry, my sweet flower!" exclaimed the dragon. "Your man, the NY Drag is up in this house, yo!"

Jake then ran out, with more 'whoosh' accompanying him.

"Okay," Peg said apologetically. "I'm completely frightened with all of the cops around."

"It's just a safety precaution, Peg. All of the other Digidestined are doing the same... we're just looking out for our loved ones."

"If it's so dangerous... then maybe we should be taken somewhere else. Like one of those safe houses?"

"I assure you, you're better off in a place that you're familiar with. Besides, you can trust New York's finest to do their job."

Suddenly, Peg heard a bunch of screams, immediately followed by the sound of something crashing through the front door.

"It's a Digimon!" one of the police officers shouted. "What do we do?"

"Shoot first, ask questions later!" Peg heard another yelled.

Several gunshots rang out. In a panic, Peg dropped the receiver and ran off to go find her son, Jake. The line was still connected, and Tai could hear everything from the other end.

* * *

"Peg? Peg? Peg, can you hear me?" Tai shouted. He knew he could hear voices on the other end, but they were heavily muffled.

Tai suddenly began hearing the gunshots in the background. Then he heard a loud growling sound and the thrashing about of a wooden table.

"What is that? There's something... something's in my house, and it's attacking my family!"

* * *

In the Digiworld, Agumon was getting ever so close to the edge of the world. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted three Digimon resting nearby. Noticing the glare off of a tail ring among them, he knew he had found what he had been looking for.

"Patamon! Gatomon! Veemon!" Agumon yelled as he ran towards them.

Hearing the familiar voice, the three rose from their nap and saw the dinosaur-like Digimon running towards them. Smiles crept across their faces, relieved to see a familiar sight at last.

"Agumon!" they shouted in unison.

Getting to their feet, they greeted Agumon with praise.

"How'd you guys get here?" he asked the trio.

"We're trying to find a way back to the real world," noted Gatomon. "Kari and the others left us behind to chase that guy in the red shirt. We were still checking for any other injured Digimon and were expecting them to come back for us."

"But we haven't heard from Davish or any of them for hours!" Veemon added.

Agumon lowered his head. "Guys... there's some bad news..."

"What?" Patamon wondered, not really prepared for what Agumon was about to say.

"TK and Davis... they were both hurt really badly when somebody tried to run them over with their car."

"Run them over?" Patamon asked again.

"Why would someone want to do that?" Veemon added.

"Wait, wait..." Gatomon cut in. "You just mentioned the guys. What about Kari? She was with them... right?"

Agumon just stood there silently, unable to mutter anything. The trio glanced oddly at them, trying to get a grasp of why Agumon wasn't talking.

Then, Gatomon gasped, finally getting it.

"No..." she started to weep. "She can't be..."

Patamon and Veemon then got it, and started to cry. Agumon looked saddened as the three Digimon balled their eyes out.

"Kari... no, not you! Why did they have to take you?"

* * *

More than a thousand miles south of New York City, a Latina-American women in her late thirties was sitting out on the balcony of her beach house. Dressed in a white flowing dress, she had a cup half full of tea in one hand and a cell phone in the other. She was in the midst of conversation with someone, as the wind breezed through her long, flowing locks of hair.

"Uh huh," she uttered. "You were right all along. She was a target. I got her out of there just in time."

She put her teacup down and reached across the table for another object... a D-3.

"It's not often I pick up women, you know," she half-joked. "She's a whole lot more beautiful than I remember. Huh? I know, I know, she's already spoken for. So am I, okay? It's just... I would think she would've changed more than that in nine years."

She started punching buttons onto her D-3, bringing up the activity from the last time it was used. It read 'Origin: New York City,' and then below it, 'Destination: Miami.'

"Don't worry," she continued. "Centarumon and I are ready to move her again if need be. We won't let these guys get her. Hmmm... where is she now? Why, the poor soul's resting on the outdoor bed in my gazebo."

Glance over at said gazebo, and there we saw who was indeed resting in the women's bed.

One exhausted Mimi Tachikawa.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
A little surprised, huh? Having White/Jindra actually be a citizen of East Antarctica and thusly being one born on Neptune was planned from the start. Having Blue/Mitchell, though, was added at the last minute, though it ends up greatly making his pull towards the 'boss' more definitive.

Remember Tai's wife, Peg? You've seen her before... back at the 15th Anniversary Digidestined Celebration, back in Episode 11 of this series. Here's her first appearance at present day, with their son, Jake. Oh, by the way, points for you if you guessed he was named after the title character of the Disney series "American Dragon: Jake Long." Then again, the 'figures' he was playing with was a helpful giveaway.

Speaking of giveaways... the Latina in the last scene has appeared in the TV show, she's not an original character. Instantly there's enough clues about her that you should be able to figure out her identity.

If not... well, you're gonna have to wait a couple of months. I'm taking a break from this fanfic, as I need to get my notes together and figure out how I want to end this fanfic. Okay, actually, I do know how it's going to end, it's just all the stuff in-between that's unclear.

The final five episodes will appear sometime this fall. Wait for it, k?

**Next Episode - 22**  
Things really get serious! Jindra Maseroon prepares to put his master plan into full motion. Does it have involve harming Tai's wife and son? Did it involve getting rid of Mimi? Can Honda stop him? In fact, can anyone? Plus, Sora pulls a Sydney, hair wig and all! Really!


	22. 22

"The Circle of the Digidestined," written by Freedom Fighter 

Disclaimer: None of the characters, human or Digimon, belong to me, the writer.

Author's Warning: The following fanfic features gruesome character death, both of the human and Digimon kind, violence of varying levels, some profane language, and some suggestive situations. Please do not read this fanfic if you're underage or feel that you cannot handle any of said features.

* * *

New York City, United Nations Building, Main Lobby, 11:00 am EST

"You can't just run off like this!" cried Stacy, following her boss, Tai, the UN representative for Japan. "The entire UN reconvenes in just 15 minutes!"

"You expect me to sit in that room without me wondering whether or not my wife and my son have been kidnapped?" Tai asked without looking back. "Or worse?"

"There's a thing in New York City called the police! It's their job to handle it!"

"Don't patronize me, Stacy! I've been an American citizen for close to 20 years now! I know what the police are! And I know this is something too big for them to handle! Heck, it may even be too big for the military to handle!"

"But not for you?" Stacy grabbed Tai by the shoulder and turned him about, stopping him in his tracks. "Who do you think you are, Tai?"

"I'm the leader of the Digidestined! Always have been, always will be!"

"The Digidestined you speak so highly about... well, one's missing, another's in jail, four are laid up in the hospital, and two more are dead! No offense, but the Dream Team is a bunch of thirty-somethings who, just like everyone else, have fallen complacent in these times of peace, and are all in no shape to fight some crazy psychos who are determined to throw both our world and the Digital World into chaos!"

"Regardless... if we don't stop them... who will?"

Stacy tried to come up with a good answer to Tai's question. But she couldn't even think of a bad one.

"That's what I thought."

Tai resumed his walk towards the front door, leaving a flabbergasted Stacy without a clue as to how to explain Tai's departure from the UN.

**Episode Twenty-Two - 22 (11.16.06)**

The mansion of East Antarctican representative Jindra Maseroon

"Electric Shock!" shouted Betamon, firing an electricity-laden blast at a nearby lamp, bursting the bulb instantaneously.

"Alright you traitor," bellowed Gazimon, who was accompanying Betamon. "Come on out where we can see ya!"

"We know you're hiding around here somewhere!" yelled Mushroomon from an adjoining room.

The fungus Digimon spoke the truth, as Honda, the man who had been known as 'Red' prior to this point, was hiding behind a sofa in the mansion's den. Noticing that he was panting heavily after having to rush into a hiding spot to avoid being seen, he tried to calm down and control his breathing. Honda knew he had to get out of that mansion before they could find him. But the lack of sleep was really hindering his ability to think of the best means of escape.

"As much as I don't want to spend the rest of my life in jail," Honda thought to himself, "I can't stand idly by and let them carry out this silly revenge plot! Wanting to get back at their own country for making them hide their true identities. That's pretty selfish of them, if you ask me."

Honda peered around the corner of the sofa, shooting a glance at the doorway on the other side of the room. He spotted the three Digimon that had been chasing him were standing right there, discussing what to do next.

"Okay, it's time to split up!" Gazimon told his partners. "We've got to find him before he finds a way out of here! He cannot survive, you understand?"

"Yes, sir!" responded Betamon and Mushroomon.

"But be careful not to tear up the mansion more than you have to! Jindra'll have all of our heads if he finds his home torn asunder!"

The three Digimon then ran off in different directions, clearing the way for Honda to escape from the den.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the room where the meeting with their boss had been broken up minutes ago, Mitchell, the one that had been given the codename 'Blue,' was discussing what to do next with Jindra, who was 'White.'

"Once the Digimon get rid of that whiner, Red, we'll be free to move on with our glorious plan!" exclaimed Blue.

"We don't have time to wait," Jindra said. "We must move on with our plan."

"So..." Blue chuckled, "we're ready to send off those missiles?"

Jindra nodded.

"Very well then. Just let me get Betamon and then we're off!"

"Good. I'll forward the instructions for how to launch the air-to-surface missiles shortly. I managed to break through their security firewalls, so you should be able to open a Digi-port directly into the base. The rest will be up to you."

"And then it's bye-bye, Zan Konolochuck!"

"Precisely."

Blue walked towards the hallway when he spotted the unconscious Yellow still propped up against the wall. Gizamon had been guarding him all this time.

"What about him?" Blue asked, pointing to Yellow.

"I think Gizamon can take care of the trash for us, don't you think?"

Blue smirked, then made his way out, leaving Gizamon alone to take care of unfinished business.

"I'm sorry that it's come to this... Lancer," apologized Gizamon as he took a few steps back and took aim.

"Gi... gi..." uttered Lancer, slowly snapping out of his daze. "Giza..."

Gizamon shed one last tear before launching his attack at Lancer.

"Spiral Saw!"

At that point, Jindra signed off his video feed, confident he didn't have to watch Gizamon actually finish off one of his former associates.

* * *

Outside the Digimon Research Laboratory, Osaka, Japan

Two shadowy figures were running through the woods, towards the brick wall gates that covered the perimeter of the lab grounds. Their goal was to get up and over and back into the lab to try and find evidence to prove Izzy's innocence. And that was all without tipping off their presence to the Japanese military, who had taken control of the place.

But it wasn't like the duo were dressed to be discreet.

"Where were you keeping a neatly-pressed tuxedo like this anyway?" Matt asked, stepping out into the clearing between the end of the forest and the west wall of the facility, about 35 feet away.

"Now you know that as a woman, I can't be giving away all my secrets," Sora said, smiling as she trotted out, a red-hair wig on her head and decked out in a black cocktail dress.

"And why are you dressed like **THAT**?" his eyes nearly fell out of his head, motioning to the fact that the gown was not only strapless, but had pretty high riding slits on either side of it. "You're 39, not 25, Sora!"

"Thanks for the compliment, Matt!" Sora growled angrily as she pushed her husband aside and started walking towards the wall.

"What did I say?" Matt scratched his head as he pulled out his D-3 out of his pocket, nonchalantly directing the question towards her fellow astronaut, Penelope, who was ready and waiting on the other side.

"I don't think you wanna know my answer to that," warned Penelope.

"Okay, then," Matt went to change the subject as he walked behind Sora. "Let's move on... we're approaching the wall as we speak."

"Good. Now, get ready to scale it."

"How?"

"With these," Sora replied, pulling out a grappling hook and some rope.

"You weren't carrying those a minute ago!" cried Matt as Sora went to work attaching the hook to one end of the rope.

"I told you... there are secrets that a woman will never tell!"

"Then how about at least explaining it in a way that a normal human being would understand?"

"There's not enough time," interrupted Penelope. "You guys can't be out in the open for long... the guard who walks the outer perimeter should be coming to this spot in less than two minutes!"

"Then it's time to scale that wall!" Sora shouted enthusiastically as she lobbed the hook up towards the top.

"That'll never..."

In one toss, the grappling hook snagged the opposite side of the wall, attached to the underside of the ledge there. Sora tugged it a few times to make sure it would hold, and then she handed the rope to Matt.

"As your punishment for being wrong... you get to scale the wall first!"

Matt resisted the urge to mutter some obscenity to himself as he put his D-3 back in his pocket and began to ascend up the wall.

"It's not like I'm missing anything," commented Matt as he got about halfway up. "I can see your backside whenever I want at home!"

"Hardy har har!" Sora half-chuckled as she grabbed the rope and prepared to follow Matt up. "I'll remember to show it off when we start crawling through the pipes... because that's all you'll see before I send you back to the space station when this is all over!"

Matt had arrived at the top by that point, and he patiently waited for Sora to join him. Once she did, Matt moved the grappling hook to the foreside so they could rappel down the inner one.

"And away we go!" Matt said, going down first, with Sora following soon there after.

Upon reaching the bottom, Matt pulled his D-3 back out of his pocket before sprinting towards a grate that was protruding from the side of the building.

"Hey, wait for me!" Sora shouted, though barely loud enough to be audible as she went to retrieve the grappling hook.

But Matt didn't pay her any attention, as he wanted to get into the shadows and out of sight as quickly as possible. Once he had done so, only then did he turn his focus back towards the wall... where Sora was beginning her sprint towards him.

"Hurry up!" Matt said, motioning Sora to move it.

Sora hoofed it as fast as she could, considering she had her hands full trying to keep her dress from fluttering too high in the wind she was generating. But somehow, she succeeded in reaching Matt before she could attract any attention from the roaming guards... one of which had just turned the corner, in plain sight of the route Sora had just ran to get to the shadows.

"Now you see why I don't like that dress?" growled Matt.

"You afraid there's something down there you don't want to see?"

"Yes! I mean, no! That is... okay, miss goody two-shoes, how do we get this grate off?"

Sora reached up, and with one light tug... managed to dislodge it from the wall. Matt was flabbergasted, to say the least.

"Are you on drugs or something?"

"Only 'you' would think that, Matt."

"Then how..."

"Allow me," buzzed Penelope from Matt's D-3. "You see, the reason I picked this as your entrance into the facility is because the Digimon Protection Agency has a tendency to come up short when it comes to paying the maintenance staff. Thusly, every once in awhile they've been known to purposely make an error on the job. One that easily can't be traced back to their department."

"Yep," Sora said, taking it from there. "Two days ago, after being told that a larger contribution was needed to keep up their healthcare plan active, they decided to take it out on the organization by having all of the outside grates unscrewed. Unfortunately, they got caught before they could complete their little 'prank,' and most of them got fired."

"That means all of the grates were screwed back in, right?" deduced Matt. "Then how come..."

"Maybe whomever was replacing them missed this one?" suggested Penelope.

"When did you two come up with this plan anyway?"

"Chelsea suggested it to me while we were at that hot springs resort," stated Sora. "And while you were changing into your tuxedo, you still had Penelope online on your D-3, and I told her what Chiharu told me."

"So the genius had help," Matt said with a smirk.

"There's no rule saying someone with a massive IQ like mine can't ask for help every once in awhile," quipped Penelope. "Especially if it's from another genius."

"Okay, so now that we've made it this far... how are we going to go about getting to searching all of the offices with the military lurking about? Did we even think this through?"

"That's why you called me! I can tell you the position of every single life form within a two-mile radius of you at this very moment!"

"And how can you do that? You have them microchipped or something?"

"I didn't... but the military did!"

Sora nodded. "In 2019, the government ordered the entire Japanese militia to have microchips implanted in them within three years."

"The media says it's used for statistical and location purposes only, in order to keep track of the size of their forces when they're dispatched. But more than likely, they use 'em to keep track of their soldiers at every waking moment. It challenges privacy laws, though no one's been able to bring a strong case against it in the courts."

"You mean you didn't know? Many of the other large countries have constantly denounced the practice. Don't you keep up with current events?"

"No... and are you two pulling some 'women are smarter than men' thing here, because if you are... it's not working!"

"We're not pulling anything," Sora said, plucking Matt's D-3 from his hand. "It's fact."

"And I've got the scientific research to prove it," added Penelope.

"Whatever," Matt said, rolling his eyes as he crawled into the pipeline leading into the building.

"Okay, Sora," Penelope told the spy-ette, "I don't know if my signal is strong enough to keep communicating with you from space, so I'm going to send you the schematics of the air ducts, as well as the microchip detector. Be careful in there... and tell Matt not to get caught. It'll be no fun up here if he's no longer my lab partner."

"I'm sure Matt's really looking forward to be working with you again."

"Oh, joy."

Penelope sent Sora the needed materials, and then waited with baited breath, hoping she would be able to continue communications with them.

* * *

A beach house, along the shoreline of Miami, Florida

Mimi was still soundly asleep, resting in an open-air gazebo that allowed the sea breeze to flow through with ease. Just outside, Centarumon, who seemed as if he hadn't aged well, stood guard. He might not be as strong as he used to be, but nevertheless he was determined to protect Mimi, whatever the cost.

Looking on from the balcony was Maria Suarez, another member of the American Digidestined, and Centarumon's partner. She was trying to enjoy the peaceful setting, but found it hard to. After having rescued Mimi, Maria was aware that the people who had tried to kidnap her would try again. The Digi-port system had been locked down on the East Coast shortly after they had arrived in Miami, meaning there was no quick way in... or out.

"It's only a matter of time," Maria muttered to herself. "They're coming for Mimi. They're going to kill her. And Centarumon and I are too weak to stop them. They'll probably kill us, too."

Maria walked inside to the master bedroom, where a notebook was sitting on a nearby table. Several pages were torn out and were taped to a nearby wall; several more had been crumpled up and thrown into the trash can in the corner. Maria headed over to examine the sheets on the wall once again. On the pages were an assortment of scribbles and lists of all of the Digidestined in the world, as well as their Digimon. Some names had already been scratched out, others had lines connecting them to other Digidestined or Digimon.

Most of the notations were pretty vague, leaving it so that only Maria herself knew exactly what they meant at first glance. The lone exception was a page where a photo of the six American Digidestined, Mimi included, from nine years ago, was attached at the top by a paper clip. Written underneath, in capital letters and red ink, were the words '**1 HAS BETRAYED US ALL**.'

That page was quickly ripped off of the wall, followed hastily by the others, as Maria had seemingly committed them to memory and was now destroying them to keep anyone else from seeing them.

"I shouldn't have made these in the first place," she admitted as she ripped them to shreds with her own two hands. "The traitor will be able to figure out my notes with ease. I can't believe I was so stupid to actually write all of this out!"

She then ran back out to the balcony and shouted at Centarumon.

"Centarumon, we're getting out of here!"

"But how?"

"How else, mi amigo? The old-fashioned way!"

* * *

Back at the Maseroon mansion...

"There he is!" Gazimon yelled. "Get 'em!"

Honda was running for his life after he had been spotted by Gazimon and Mushroomon near the stairs.

"Fungus Crusher!" exclaimed Mushroomon.

"Electric Stun Blast!" cried Gazimon.

The two fired their attacks at Honda simultaneously, yet he managed to dodge both by rounding a corner and ducking into an adjacent hallway. But they continue to give chase, as Honda found himself in a hall with a bunch of locked doors... none of which would open for him. Worse still, the hallway ended in a dead end, save for a lone glass window.

"You're in the Hall of Sealed Doors," Gazimon said to Honda, blocking off the only way into the hall. "There's no way out!"

"So give up now and maybe we'll make your end a little less painful!" exclaimed Mushroomon.

"Hmmm..." Honda said, his back turned towards them. "I think I'll take my chances outside."

"Shoot him! Shoot him now!" Gazimon yelled as Honda ran for the window.

"Fungus Crusher!"

"Electric Stun Blast!"

The two attacks merged into one as they barreled straight for Honda. His only hope of escaping was to jump out the window...

Seconds later, the entire wall, including the window, was destroyed by the blast, which itself disintegrated upon impact. The smoke from the ruins billowed from the remnants of the wall and out into the open field on the other side. Flames began to spread from it, too, as they slowly headed in the direction of Gazimon and Mushroomon.

"Do you think we got him?" Mushroomon asked.

"I don't know, but we'd better put out that fire before the whole place burns down!" Gazimon freaked out in a panic. "Oh, the boss is gonna be mad with us if that happens!"

As the two ran off to go find some water, there was still no sign of Honda anywhere in the smoke or outside of the building.

* * *

"That must be the end of Red," 'Blue' said as he attempted to open a Digi-port in Jindra's office.

"Good riddance," agreed Betamon, who was standing on the desk, next to the keyboard.

"Just a few clicks there and... voilà! We're in!"

A Digi-port opened on the computer screen, giving Blue and Betamon access to their destination... a missile silo in the middle of nowhere.

"Time to take it to those bastards, once and for all!" laughed Blue as he and Betamon were sucked into the Digi-port.

As they disappeared and the portal closed behind them, neither of them were aware that Gazimon had been in the room the whole time. And even as the coordinates reset upon the portal's closure, he knew exactly where they were going.

* * *

Back at the Digimon Research Laboratory, Matt and Sora were still making their way through the air ducts, crawling on all fours. They were heading up a slight incline, squeezing themselves into the spacing between the first and second floors. Matt was leading the way, with Sora following with Matt's D-3 in between the two.

"You know," Matt observed, "I just noticed how easy it is to get around here. It's like they're asking for spies!"

"Wait a minute!" Sora interrupted him as he crawled over an air vent. "If I'm reading this thing right, we should be right above Izzy's office."

"Really?"

"Move so I can see inside."

Sora forcibly pushed on Matt's behind, getting him out of the way and allowing her to crawl to where she could see through the vent.

"Why do you have to look? Shouldn't what Penelope gave us be able to tell you if anyone's down there!"

"Of course! It says that there's one person down there. But it doesn't tell us who it is. I have to actually look to see!"

Sora peered through the vent, searching for the person in question was. But she couldn't see him... not from where she was.

"Damn it! I can't see him from here!"

"Are you sure?"

"It's going according to plan, sir!" entered a third voice.

"Huh?" Matt and Sora asked each other. "Was that you?"

"Yes, the Digidestined are no longer in the compound. They no longer have access to a working Digi-port because of the lockdown ordered by the government because of East Antarctica declaring war on the United States! The Japanese are afraid of the ports here being used as a linking point between the two countries."

"Why does that guy sound familiar?"

"Of course, Matt! But I just can't believe... that it's him!"

"Right now, this laboratory has the only functioning Digi-port in all of Japan! That makes it impossible for those Digidestined to stop us! And we can use it to our will, shuffling our own weapons to and fro as we please! And all I had to do was set that genius, Izzy, to take the fall!"

"Man, I didn't see that coming."

"Izzy trusted him... and he turned his back on him, just like that! Of all the nerve... why I oughta..."

Sora slammed her right fist on the grate, knocking it off and sending it plummeting to the floor below.

"What was that?" another voice in the room shouted.

"What was that?" Matt also asked, unsure of what was going on.

"It's not good," Sora sighed. "I just knocked the vent cover off... and there's a couple of guys with guns aiming right at me."

"Attention intruders!" one the soldiers shouted. "You have five seconds to surrender, or we will open fire! This is your only warning!"

"Any suggestions, super spy?"

"Just one," Sora winced, closing her eyes and placing her hands over her head.

"**FIVE! FOUR! THREE! TWO!**"

"Pray!"

"What?"

"**ONE!**"

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Finally, we're back! There's a lot of ground to cover in these last few episodes, so I hope you're strapped in and ready for a wild ride!

Before anyone asks, I'm not portraying Maria as a genius. Just one who's good at figuring things out. She's under the impression that one of her fellow American Digidestined is a traitor! Does she know what she's talking about? You'll have to stay tuned to find out.

**Next Episode - A Moment of Reflection**  
It's an episode of confrontations and traitors revealed. While Sora and Matt learn for sure who set up Izzy in Japan, Tai learns of one on his own soil at his own house! Agumon and the gang finally get out of the Digiworld... or do they? And you won't believe how the episode ends.


	23. A Moment of Reflection

"The Circle of the Digidestined," written by Freedom Fighter 

Disclaimer: None of the characters, human or Digimon, belong to me, the writer.

Author's Warning: The following fanfic features gruesome character death, both of the human and Digimon kind, violence of varying levels, some profane language, and some suggestive situations. Please do not read this fanfic if you're underage or feel that you cannot handle any of said features.

* * *

Digimon Research Laboratory, Osaka, Japan, approximately 1:25 am JST

"Yoo hoo!" a voice emanated from the open air duct, as a slender female hand popped out and waved at the soldiers below. "I surrender! Just don't shoot!"

"What are you..." Matt started to mouth before he was greeted by something push him in the butt.

It was Sora's head.

"Can somebody catch me?" requested the Digidestined of Love. "It's been awhile since my days on the pro tennis circuit."

Sora continued pushing Matt further and further, in order to get into a position to emerge from the duct feet first. Matt was still confused as to what his wife was doing... until in slid through his open legs his D-3, with Penelope still live on the other side. And holding up pieces of paper with words on them hastily written in marker.

**KEEP GOING.**

**MOVE YOUR BUTT.**

**OLD MAN.**

**SORA WILL BE.**

**TUB OF LARD.**

Matt seemed perplexed by the last one, until Penelope noticed she had it out of order. Quickly correcting herself, she held the next piece of paper and the previous one up together, clearing up the message for Matt.

**FINE, SO MOVE YOU. TUB OF LARD.**

Matt quickly moved to voice his displeasure. Over either Penelope's own blatant name-calling or Sora giving herself up for the good of the mission, the young genius couldn't tell. If he was trying to stop Sora, it was too late, as she had already gotten all but her head out of the grate.

That only took a second to correct.

"Aaahhh!" Sora screamed, followed by the loud thud of two bodies... hers and the one of the soldier who had presumably moved to catch her, hitting the tile floor hard.

"What was that, Milton?" yelled the other guard. "You've been skipping out on weight training again?"

"Like I said, I'm not in shape," reminded Sora, half-mockingly and no longer wearing her wig, which had fell off and landed a few feet away.

"And you... what were you doing up there?"

Matt didn't stick around to hear her response, as he resumed crawling through the air vents, hoping to find another way out.

"Sora'll have to keep them busy," Matt thought to himself. "I'll rescue her after I find what we came for."

Back in the room, Sora was picking herself up off the floor, aching slightly. Luckily for her, the brunt of the fall was taken by Milton, as she had landed on his back. She grimaced in pain, yet had more than enough resolve to ignore it for the time being. Especially since, just to her right, she was staring at the guy responsible for Izzy being branded as a traitor.

"Yoshi!" she called out his name. "Yoshi Ono! You're the one!"

**Episode Twenty-Three - A Moment of Reflection (11.23.06)**

"I still can't believe that all this time..." Sora shook her head, "all this time, it was you. The second-in-command. The guy who had the most to gain from seeing Izzy removed from his position. The one who was to blame for Joe being trampled! For all of those innocent Digimon that were deleted! It's all your fault, isn't it?"

Yoshi slowly clapped his hands in applause and smiled as the two soldiers quickly grabbed one of Sora's arms and restrained her before she could do anything about it.

"I'm impressed, Sora. For the only person to be the top-ranked woman's tennis player and the most popular fashion designer in the world at one point... I have to be surprised that you, of all the Digidestined, were able to figure it out."

"You're comparing me to Mimi? I'm not so sure she'd take that as a compliment."

"You had help figuring this out... didn't you?"

"Oh yes, because you figure someone like me would be too dumb to scale the outer walls of the facility and find an open entrance through an air duct system that's so large an elephant can walk through it..."

"Stop monkeying with me, you!"

"You know, the government isn't spending money on security the way they should be."

"**ENOUGH!**" Yoshi screamed at the top of his lungs, silencing Sora in the process. "You wanna joke around, fine."

Yoshi walked over, snatched the pistol from Milton's holster...

"Hey!"

Proceeded to cock it, and then aim it right between Sora's eyes.

"You think you're a smart ass, don't you bitch? Well, answer me this... how long do you think it takes for a bullet to go in one end of your head and out the other? And I swear... this answer's pretty easy!"

Without hesitation, Sora quickly delivered a reply.

"It's the end of the road, isn't it?" she asked solemnly.

Yoshi nodded in agreement. "It sure is."

Sora glanced her eyes up to the sky as Yoshi pulled the trigger.

**BANG!**

* * *

"Okay, this room should be clear," Penelope told Matt as he crawled towards another grate on the other end of the floor.

"Remind me that we need to have a talk on 'respecting your elders' when I get back to the station later," Matt told her as he came to a stop.

"I hate to tell you, Matt, but 'respecting your elders' went out of style with the fourth return of disco."

"Very funny, Penelope. And I'm pretty sure disco's only returned three times."

Matt punched out the grate, with it make a loud clanging sound as it hit the floor. Worried that it had made too much noise, Matt waited in the vent for a minute or so to see if anyone would come check it out. When no one did, Matt quickly snaked his way out, landing on a very high table that cut his falling distance in half.

"Easy as pie!" Matt proclaimed, landing on his two feet.

"As much as I'd like to prove you wrong on how many returns disco really has had," Penelope said, cutting off his joy, "there's a bigger wrong that requires correcting at this moment."

"Right," Matt noted, getting focused on the task at hand. "Pulling Izzy's butt out of the frying pan and proving he isn't a traitor to our country!"

"Exactly! Now, there should be a computer in that room. Use your D-3 and plug it into the USB drive. I'll take it from there."

"Okay... but are you sure it was wise leaving Sora alone?"

"You, her husband, of all people, should know that she's capable of taking care of herself. She has a way of wiggling out of anyway situation."

"I know she does, but... I worried about her safety."

"No worries," Penelope reassured him. "We'll check on her after we're done. She'll be fine."

Matt nodded, trusting in Penelope's hunches... but he still couldn't shake that nagging feeling...

* * *

Osaka General Hospital

TK was sound asleep in his hospital bed, recuperating from the grueling surgery he had just gotten through a few hours ago. But all of a sudden, his dream took a turn for the weird.

The weirdly familiar...

* * *

TK glanced around what was basically a space of nothingness. The only things he could see other than himself were a beam of light... and Davis, about twenty feet away from him. Both were dressed in their hospital scrubs.

"Is that you, Davis?"

"If it's you, TK, then get out of my dream!"

"Your dream? You mean this waste of space?"

"For your information, I was dreaming about the next big thing for 'Noodle Noodle, Come Get Your Noodle!' Chopsticks that pick up your noodles for you, eliminating all the guesswork as to how to use them!"

"Brilliant," TK said with a smug smile. "Just brilliant."

"I know!" Davis said, rubbing his palms together. "It's the best thing since sliced... wait a minute, you were mocking me!"

TK chuckled. "Sorry, Davis, but I heard someone in China beat you to the patent by about thirteen years."

"Whatever. You're just mad because you think I broke into your dream!"

"I was dreaming about becoming the number one reporter for NHK, the best network for news in the entire country!"

"Is that all?" Davis sighed, unimpressed.

"Say," TK wondered, choosing not to shoot a rebuttal back, "doesn't this place look familiar? Like we've been here before?"

"Now that you mention it... no."

TK slapped himself on the forehead. "Come on... you, me, that crazy beam of light in the distance... the last time we were here, Kari was with us! And she ran to that light, and then we woke up... but for some reason, she didn't!"

"Now I remember!" Davis jumped with excitement... before his emotions did a complete 180 as he began shivering with fear. "Wait... d-does that mean..."

"One of us is about to die?" TK finished Davis' thought. "Who knows..."

"It's probably you," Davis decided as he walked over and started pushing TK towards the light.

"What are... now that's not cool!" TK objected, sidestepping out of the way.

"You tell those wacky doctors that operated on you! They probably screwed up during the operation and now you're dying!"

"Those same doctors stitched you up, remember? How do we know you're not the one dying here?"

"Oh yeah? How do you know we're **BOTH** not dying?"

TK froze up at that surprisingly intelligent theory by Davis.

"You're right," he gasped. "What if we are **BOTH** dying?"

"You two aren't dying," chuckled a familiar voice coming from inside of the light. "Even after my death, you two still argue over the silliest of things."

TK and Davis couldn't believe their ears. Were they really hearing her? Or just imagining it? Just like they were imagining her walking out of the light and towards the two of them.

"Do you see what I see?" Davis asked TK.

"Those meds the nurse gave me to sedate the pain must be making my eyes crazy," TK answered.

"What are you jabberin' about? That's her! That's really **HER**!"

Their eyes did not deceive them, for once she was out of the gleam of the light... they did indeed see Kari, the Digidestined of Light, standing before them, clothed in a white gown that covered her entire body, save for her hands and the tips of her feet.

And smiling as angelically as she had even smiled before.

* * *

Digital World's Northern Quadrant, Sector 7.18

Agumon, Palmon, Veemon, Patamon, Gomamon, and Gatomon were heading back through the Digiworld the same way they came in, hoping to find an open portal back to the real world so they could get an update on what was going on. Gatomon, still somewhat distraught over not being able to protect Kari when she needed her the most, seemed pretty despondent. Gomamon was doing his best to keep her spirits up, but nothing he was trying was working.

"Stop thinking it's the end of the world!" Gomamon told her. "It's part of life for people to die. Some, sadly, go before we want them to. I should know... Joe still had tons of years in front of him! But just because their lives ended doesn't mean ours have to!"

"I'm nothing without Kari!" Gatomon cried. "She was my best friend in the whole entire world! There'll... there'll never be anyone like her again!"

"Maybe not, but there are still plenty of people who care about you!"

"Like meeee!" Veemon cut in, pointing to himself.

"And me," added Patamon, bubbling with laughter.

"And don't forget us," Agumon chimed in from the front of the pack, the 'us' referring to him and Palmon.

"Us Digimon and all the Digidestined are always with you!" Palmon shouted with assurance.

"I know it hurts," Gomamon told Gatomon. "We know it hurts. But we just can't hurt for the rest of our lives. We need to find ways to make the pain go away. Like you living the way you always used to with Kari. Or me with Joe. Life will slow down briefly to honor their passing. But it won't stop. We shouldn't either."

Gatomon paused for a moment to reflect on what Gomamon had just said. The others did as well, waiting to see if it would help her press on.

Suddenly, a flame of determination sparked in her eyes, and she found the strength and the will inside of her, mustering it to the surface, to keep going.

"You're right. You're all right! Kari wouldn't want me to cry for her forever! She'd want me to find the bright side of everything. That every person and every Digimon has a good and an evil side. And now I'll take on her duty... to make sure that good always triumphs over evil, and that no one ever finds themselves consumed by the darkness! For I am Gatomon, and I am... the Digimon of Light!"

"Wow!" the other five Digimon exclaimed, either pleased over Gatomon's cheeriness... or stumped in disbelief over the quick turnover.

"Now it's time to get back to the real world, find out who did this to Kari, and help him realize the evils of his ways!"

Gatomon stuck out her chest proudly as she marched to the front of the pack and, without objection, took the role of leader from Agumon as she continued down the path.

"Gatomon's back... I think!" Palmon cheered... sort of.

"I think she thinks she's a superhero now," Agumon deduced.

"What a speech!" Patamon said, impressed.

"The next time Davis needs one of those motivational speakers, I'll make sure he calls you!" shouted Veemon.

"I guess I did do better than I thought," admitted Gomamon, who wasn't expecting Gatomon to respond so positively to his last-ditch effort.

The five then ran after Gatomon, who was about to walk up a slightly steep hill in the distance. As they caught up, Gatomon pointed out that a woman and a Digimon had appeared at the top.

"Hey! Somebody's waiting for us up there!"

"I think..." Agumon squinted, trying to peer ahead. "It is! That's Catherine and Floramon!"

"Catherine and Floramon?!" the others squealed in surprise.

"But didn't her fiancé kick you guys out of the Digimon Research Lab?" questioned Gatomon, remembering the story Agumon had told them.

"Well, the thing is... we don't know for sure."

Palmon nodded, agreeing with Agumon. "We kinda lied. We assumed he was there to kick all of the Digidestined and us Digimon out."

Agumon picked it up from there. "Luckily, some of the techs foresaw this and had us whisked away through a Digi-port in an emergency generator room near the shelter in the basement."

"So... can we trust Catherine?"

"I don't know, Gatomon... but we're about to find out."

The six Digimon had indeed reached the hill's summit, and Catherine and Floramon greeted them upon arrival.

"Thank goodness you're all okay!" Floramon said with relief.

"I'm glad we got to you first, mes amis," Catherine told them. "We have to get you to a Digi-port and back to the real world! I'm afraid Tai and the others need your help!"

"But all of the Digi-ports are closed off, aren't they?" Agumon asked. "All except the one back at the Research Lab."

"They were... until about five minutes ago."

"Wha?" the six Digimon gasped in shock.

"For some reason... they all became accessible again!"

"Then how come I don't see any entrances anywhere?" Patamon asked.

"That's because only the manual locks were released," explained Floramon. "The automatics are still on."

"That basically means," Catherine cut in, "that the Digi-ports, zey can only appear with ze help of a D-3. One in the possession of a Digidestined!"

"I remember now!" Patamon suddenly recalled. "TK once told me that, during a remodel of the D-3s in 2007, Izzy put in a program that allowed any of the Digidestined to access a Digi-port here in the Digiworld if they had been locked due to a government-declared emergency."

"Zat's right!"

"Then how come you guys didn't open it shortly after the lockdown?" questioned Veemon. "Wouldn't that have helped us a whole lot?"

"Well..." Catherine scratched the back of her head sheepishly, "there are plenty of things that have to happen to get the program up and running. First, it has to be started up by Izzy himself, as he ees the only one who can even access the program to do so. Then, there are five pre-selected Digidestined who must recognize that Izzy has started the program, and they must all, within five minutes of each other, punch in an alphanumeric code to unlatch the secondary security lock."

"The safety measures were implemented for all of our protection," Floramon explained. "We needed to make sure this program was accessed only when it needed to be. Heck, even us Digimon aren't supposed to know about it. I found out when Catherine accidentally left her manual out in her hotel room in Paris yesterday."

"In addition, ze access codes are changed every month, and one of ze five Digidestined ees rotated out for a new one. Only Izzy knows who the five are, so it would be hard to leak ze 'emergency plan' from any source other than himself."

"So, somehow all five of you know when you have to punch in the access code?" queried Gatomon.

"Oui! We each get a message on our D-3s. But for some reason... somebody kept missing the time window. We've been trying for hours to sync up, but the problem is that we're not allowed to contact the other 'destined to figure out who ze slacker ees."

"Too many rules about this thing..." Veemon said, his head feeling as if it were spinning in circles.

"Wait!" Palmon yelled. "You said that this unlocks the secondary security lock!"

"Yeah!" Agumon demanded. "What's the primary lock involve?"

"Eet involves one of the five to be in ze Digiworld at all times. That one could use his or her D-3 to manually open any Digi-port, one at a time, where eet was needed. That person would be responsible for controlling who enters and leaves ze Digiworld."

"That's good to know," uttered a voice from behind Catherine.

The French Digidestined gasped as she turned about and saw her fiancé, Francois, and a good portion of the military squadron that had accompanied him into the Digiworld to find Agumon and the others, were standing at the ready, with firearms drawn.

* * *

East Meadows, New York, 11:45 am EST

Tai had finally arrived at the street he lived on, but found out that he couldn't get any closer because the police had blocked off the street. A sizable crowd of neighbors was standing there, trying to get a glimpse of what was going on, while others were being evacuated there from their homes. As Tai hopped out of his car and tried to figure out a way to get past the crowd and to his house, he saw his opportunity staring him right in the face.

One of the American Digidestined, Phil, was talking on his cell phone when he spotted Tai in the crowd. He raised his hand in the air and waved at the Japanese Digidestined and motioned for him to come on. Tai seemed a bit shocked, especially considering what he had seen in the UN chamber about an hour ago, but he was more worried about what had become of his wife and his son. So he ran over and joined Phil, who walked him past the police officers and down the street.

"Nice to see you again, Tai," greeted Phil. "Wish it were under more pleasant circumstances, my brutha!"

"Likewise," Tai said as he shook Phil's hand. "I didn't think you'd be here..."

"A Digimon attacking humans without provocation? Man, if that's not the Bat-signal for a Digidestined, I don't know what passes for one these days, mon."

"So, you here investigating alone?"

"Nope. Lou's here too."

Sure enough, Tai spotted Lou among a crew of policemen checking out what was left of the front door of Tai's house. The entranceway had pretty much been destroyed, though it looked as if the foundation of the house was holding up pretty well.

"I'm glad you're here, Tai, because you won't believe who Lou and I think broke into your house and kidnapped Peg and your son, Jake."

"Who, Phil? Who?"

Phil and Tai stopped by the mailbox and gazed at the entrance from there. Phil subtly pointed out the wreckage and holes in the front of the house... some of which were shaped like a tail. A large tail.

"Lou and I believe this is the work of a Seadramon," Phil told Tai. "Seadramon are the champion-level form of Betamon. And there's only one person in the Digimon database that has a Betamon registered under his name within fifty miles of New York City."

"And you and I both know who he is," Tai growled angrily. "I don't know what his role in all this is... but he's gonna pay for messing with my family!"

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Funny story... a lot of the scenes in this episode were supposed to be longer. But I had to break them up because of time and length constraints. So, a lot of stuff you'll see in the next episode was originally scheduled to be in this one. All of this bunching will probably ensure the final two episodes will have to go over the normal length by a great deal to fit everything in... but we'll see.

(The above changes also forced an episode title change from what was previously announced... if you notice.)

The TK-Davis sequence was originally supposed to take place in the living world, with both of them seeing Kari as a ghost in their room at Osaka General. But then, in me going back to make sure the facts matched up with everything that happened earlier in the story, I found out that I didn't put them in the same room to begin with! So I ended up falling back to the 'space of nothingness' void again.

Speaking of scenes that didn't go according to plan... the scene with Catherine and the Digimon was actually going to be much shorter. I kinda ran away with this one, giving the French Digidestined some extra 'screen time' while trying to rationalize her ability to be able to now, of all times, be able to open a locked Digi-port. In retrospect, I'm not sure if it's the right call, but better to have some explanation than none at all, I say.

**Next Episode - Launching Pad into History**  
Davis and TK lighten up about a portion of their past, but will one of them follow the light to their future? Catherine faces questioning, Izzy stares down a knife, and somebody's struck down by the hand of justice! But after all that, do the nukes still get launched?


	24. Launching Pad into History

"The Circle of the Digidestined," written by Freedom Fighter 

Disclaimer: None of the characters, human or Digimon, belong to me, the writer.

Author's Warning: The following fanfic features gruesome character death, both of the human and Digimon kind, violence of varying levels, some profane language, and some suggestive situations. Please do not read this fanfic if you're underage or feel that you cannot handle any of said features.

This particular episode features mild profanity, implied alcohol use, and mild descriptive nudity.

* * *

Unnamed Secret Military Base, Arizona, USA, 11:43 am EST 

Having already gained access to the highest-level security gates via a Digi-port on the inside, Blue and Betamon were in the midst of making their way to the missile control room. Along the way, they kept an eye out for video cameras and guardsmen, attempting to keep out of sight.

It didn't take them long to find their destination. What was surprising was the fact that a blonde-haired man was waiting for them. And he had a Betamon of his own.

"I wasn't expecting you to beat me here," Blue smirked.

"You made me do something that I'll regret for the rest of my life," the man said. "All because you bastards made me..."

"And if you want your hot little skank of a wife to make it through this alive... you'd better see this through to the end!"

The second man sadly nodded. "As the leader of the American Digidestined, I have sworn to do whatever it takes to protect those close to me. Even if... that means sacrificing someone else instead."

**Episode Twenty-Four - Launching Pad into History (11.30.06)**

East Meadows, New York

As Lou continued to assist in the investigation of the attack on the Kamiya household, Phil was chatting with Tai in the kitchen... one of the few rooms that was left intact.

"So... you're not exactly sure why Michael would betray us like that?" questioned Tai.

"Not a clue," answered Phil. "Phil and I were working on a related case when we got some suspicious intel."

"Related case? You mean... the reconnaissance missions?"

Phil gasped. "How did you know? That's classified by the United States government! Unless you got clearance..."

"Clearance isn't needed when someone else lets the information out."

"You mean... Representative O'Neil?"

Tai shook his head. "No. Representative Maseroon, of East Antarctica."

"East Antarctica? Now it makes sense."

"So... you think he's one of the five? Those scoundrels who've been wreaking havoc here and in the Digital World?"

"That seems logical... but we don't have definitive proof yet. But he definitely seems to fit the profile of a small terrorist cell that Lou and I had been following for the past month or so."

"Terrorist... cell?"

"Well, they're not affiliated with any of the major ones, as far as I know. But that doesn't make them any less dangerous, either. Our mission was to see what they were up to. But two days ago, we were order by the government to return home."

"Huh? Return home?"

"They weren't happy with our progress. They apparently had a honest to goodness reason to suspect them of planning some plot to destroy a famous world landmark. They hoped sending in their own men would speed up the investigation process so that they could make a move before it was too late."

"So... did you guys ever figure out what Maseroon and the others were up to?"

"Not completely. But one thing we did discover for sure... though they seem to be fighting on the side of the East Antarcticans, in reality, they intend to destroy them!"

* * *

Digital World's Northern Quadrant, Sector 7.18 

On a grassy plain in the Digiworld, two groups were staring each other down. On one side were Catherine and seven Digimon, including her own partner, Floramon. On the other was Catherine's fiancé, Francois, as well as a good-sized number of military soldiers. And they were all pointing their firearms in the direction of the French Digidestined and her accompaniers.

"Do you realize what you're doing?" Catherine shouted.

"I'm sorry, ma cherie... but seeing that the Digidestined are no longer in charge of remedying ze real threats that threaten the safety of both worlds, I ask that you release zem Digimon into our custody for their own protection."

"Protection!" Gatomon objected. "We don't need protection!"

"We're capable of resolving this without any help!" added Agumon.

Floramon hastily shushed them before they could say anything else.

"Quiet! Please... let Catherine handle this! It's time for us to go!"

"Go?" wondered Gomamon. "Go where?"

"Just follow me!"

Floramon ran off to the left, and the other Digimon quickly went after her without any hesitation. Seeing the 'offenders' make a break for it, the soldiers adjusted their aim and prepared to open fire.

"How dare you!" Catherine yelled, grabbing the soldiers' attention. "Zey have done nothing wrong! Zey are just trying to protect what's near and dear to zem!"

"Platoon," Francois ordered, "prepare to fire on ze signal of moi!"

"Zey aren't trying to hurt you! Don't you realize zat!"

"Ready..."

"Zey aren't ze enemy!"

"Take aim..."

"Well, then you leave me no choice..."

Catherine pulled out her D-3 and turned in the direction that Floramon was leading the Digimon. Shocked by this, Francois tried to reason with her.

"So you haven't opened the Digi-port yet? Zen maybe..."

"Sorry... **DIGI-PORT OPEN!**"

A beam of light fired from the D-3 and opened a Digi-port just a few feet in front of Floramon and the others. Before any of the soldiers could react, all of the Digimon ran into it, disappearing before their very eyes. Once the last Digimon was gone, the Digi-port immediately closed, and the light from Catherine's D-3 faded away.

"Do what you want with moi," Catherine told Francois and her squadron. "But I know zat I have done ze right thing. And ze world, she will thank me for it."

Francois sighed, then pointed at two of the soldiers, then at his fiancé. With arms still drawn, they cautiously walked over towards Catherine. She responded by slowly kneeling down, keeping her D-3 in plain sight and placing it on the ground. She then raised her arms high in the air, keeping them up until the soldiers had reached her. One of them put his rifle away and then went to work handcuffing her as the other kept his rifle trained on her. Once both of her wrists had been cuffed, they led her away.

"When we get back, put her in Interrogation Room 1," their commander ordered.

"What about the Digimon?" another soldier asked as Francois walked over and picked Catherine's D-3 off of the ground.

"Hmmm..." Francois murmured as he began fiddling with the D-3, only to fail to get any sort of reaction from it. "Looks like my dear Catherine won't be any help in zat department."

"Sir?"

"Contact ze soldiers back at the Research Lab. See if they can get the scientists to search for signs of an unauthorized Digi-port being opened. At ze very least, we can find out where she sent them. We'll plot our next move from zere."

* * *

_"I must be dreaming!" TK exclaimed. "Well, I know I'm dreaming, but maybe I'm dreaming inside of another dream, because..."_

_"Wow..." Davis said, drooling. "I guess it's true that there's no such thing as modesty up in Heaven!"_

_"What are you yammering about?"_

_"Can't you see?"_

_Davis pointed at Kari... well, several parts of Kari._

_"She looks like an angel who's come down from Heaven. Come down from... wait a minute, is that possible in a dream?"_

_"That's not what I'm talking about!"_

_Seeing that TK wasn't getting it, Davis turned to Kari and pointed it out bluntly._

_"Angels don't wear clothes! **SHE'S COMPLETELY NAKED!**"_

_TK slapped Davis across the face. "**KEEP YOUR FANTASIES TO YOURSELF!** Besides, can't you see that she's wearing a gown?"_

_"Actually," Kari interjected, "it's not a surprise that you see me clothed, TK. And Davis, you seeing me without 'em."_

_"And you're just as lovely as I remember," Davis stated matter-of-factly, blushing._

_"Now wait just a damn minute... how come I can't see..."_

_TK focused his eyes on Kari as hard as he could and tried to will the gown she was wearing away._

_"Who's acting like the perv now?" Davis smiled, actually showing a brief sense of reason._

_"I don't get it!"_

_"Well, you probably could imagine it in your mind, but you'd just be guessing. That is unless you've actually seen her in the..."_

_TK's jaw nearly dropped as Davis caught himself, covering his mouth with his own hands. Though, obviously, way too late..._

_"No way... you mean you and Kari..."_

_"It's not what it sounds like, I swear!" Davis suddenly defended, trying to back away slowly._

_"Then you'd better explain yourself! Or Kari better..."_

_"I'm pretty sure she won't... because she can't."_

_"What do you... that better not mean..."_

_"I read in a book some time ago that when a person passes on, they don't only leave behind their body, but any memories of what happened in the world of the living. They need that purity in order to pass the gates into Heaven."_

_"That's not completely true," Kari admitted. "We don't leave behind all of our memories. Just the ones that are pure of heart."_

_"So... you could be making all this shit up!" TK growled at Davis._

_"But... I can sense that what Davis is about to say... is the truth. I can't say for certain... but it feels like the truth."_

_"Well..." TK scratched his head. "Kari's never been one to take to lying when she was... now that she's an angel... okay then, Davis?"_

_"You gonna listen to me now, TP?"_

_"**YOU KNOW WHAT MY NAME IS... THAT'S SOME TRUTH YOU'RE SPEWING THERE!**"_

_"I'm joking, TK! Look, for real, here's the honest truth..."_

* * *

_Flashback, about 19 years ago... it's all dark. Only voices could be heard in the background, as Davis seemed to be out of it as he lied on TK's bed._

_"You think he's okay?"_

_"I hope so. Who knows what would've happened if one of the teachers caught him drunk."_

_"At least half the class drank that spiked punch before Mrs. Yari noticed it! And it was refilled at least three times, TK! **THREE!**"_

_"And it's my fault that Davis went back for seconds? Thirds? Maybe even **FOURTHS AND FIFTHS?**"_

_"Maybe he's got alcohol poisoning or something. We should take Davis to the hospital."_

_"He looks fine to me! He's sleeping like a baby!"_

_"With his eyes open. His red-shot eyes!"_

_"Look... we might get in trouble if he take him to the hospital... they might think we gave him the drinks. Maybe we should try helping him first... my mom used this old remedy once to get rid of her hangovers. What's it called... a prairie oyster?"_

_Kari laughed. "Your mom gets drunk?"_

_"What? She's an adult just like anyone else! And it was just saké..."_

_"Fine... but if that doesn't work, we're taking him to the hospital. Hopefully, he's still **BREATHING BY THEN**!"_

_TK sighed. "Okay, I'll go call an ambulance."_

_As TK left the room, Davis slowly started to regain consciousness... though he sight was rather blurry and unclear. His ears were working fine, though, as he could hear Kari. As well as smell and feel her, as she was sitting next to him and was stroking his head with her right hand._

_"Don't worry Davis... you're going to be al..."_

_Kari suddenly stopped, which started raising worries in Davis' brain... what little of it he had access to in his impaired state. But thankfully, it was quiet for only a few seconds before she spoke up again._

_"Oh... I can't believe you puked on my prom dress and you're unconscious! Geese Louise... and this is silk! Liquids get through easily! You're just lucky I can't give you a piece of my mind. Now... I hope TK has something in his closet that..."_

_As Kari's voice faded as she got up and walked away from Davis, he started to get worried again. Somehow, he slowly willed himself back to a normal state as he regained the strength to lift the upper half of his body off of the bed. In a sitting position, his eyesight came back to him..._

_Just in time to see Kari fiddling through TK's closet... while completely in the buff!_

_"D-d-damn you look hot..." slurred Davis._

_Kari gasped, quickly spun about and gaped a now wide-awake Davis. She then gasped again when she realize that now she was showing off her front side. And Davis could see every bump, curve, and crevice on Kari's practically flawless body, from her breasts to her toes. As far as Kari knew, Davis was enjoying every inch of the view he was getting._

_"**DAVIS!**" she screamed, blushing as she reached down for her dress and draped it around her body as best as she could._

_"Yeahggg..." Davis half-heartedly cheered as he suddenly fell back, blacking out as his head hit the bed._

* * *

_"**HOW COME YOU'VE NEVER TOLD ME ABOUT THIS?**" TK yelled as he shook Davis back to the 'dream' reality._

_"Because I knew you'd react this way, TP!"_

_"And why didn't you?" TK prompted Kari... who responded with a shrug of the shoulders. "Oh... right, you wouldn't know. Damn it!"_

_"I'm surprised I remember every detail, given the state I was in!"_

_"Do you know how much I want to kill you right now? The only reason I'm not going to is because doing so would give you free time with her in Heaven!"_

_"That's gross, TK! You're imagining us having sex while we're both dead?"_

_"Oy!" TK sweatdropped, shaking his head in dismay._

* * *

Digimon Research Lab, Osaka, Japan 

Upon returning to the lab, Francois and the handcuffed Catherine noticed that things were not as calm as they had left it. The scientists were being rounded up and led out of the room, while the soldiers had started to take up defensive perches behind the desks.

"Hey!" Francois shouted. "What the hell is going on out here?"

"We've got an intruder, sir," one of the soldiers reported. "We've got one man down, in need of serious need of medical attention, and reports of gunfire."

"I see. Well, I guess the interrogation will have to wait. Take the prisoner to Interrogation Room 1 as we planned... but make sure the room is heavily guarded."

"Isn't that your fiancé?" the same soldier asked as Catherine was led away. "And why do you need to have her guarded? You think this is one of the other Digidestined, coming to save her?"

"I know who she is! And no, I doubt the Digidestined already know of her being in our custody. She's probably not high on their priority list, anyway. But just to be safe... search this building from top to bottom! Don't let anything go in or out of zis place unless I say so!"

"Affirmative, sir!"

The soldiers began their search of the entire lab immediately.

* * *

Elsewhere in the building... Sora was sitting on the floor in the center of another office, a little annoyed thanks to a blood stain on the left side of her cocktail dress. 

And the fact that Yoshi was still pointing a pistol at her head, ready to blow her away.

"Why did you shoot Milton, Yoshi?" Sora asked, distraught. "What does he have to do with all of this?"

"Nothing," Yoshi said. "He was going to get fired tomorrow anyway."

"How is alright that you get to crack a joke and I don't?"

"Think about it! Who's the one with the gun here?"

Sora crossed her arms over her chest and turned her head to her right, deciding not to respond to her captor's question.

"Fine then. But, you're not going to get away with a no answer for this next one! Who else broke in here with you? Or do you really want a bullet in your head?"

"What makes me think you're going to shoot me this time? I'm sure Milton didn't see the last one coming!"

"There's only two of us in here... and I've got only one bullet left. And I can assure you, I don't plan on shooting myself!"

"Next time," Sora thought to herself, "I'm going to get a real-life secret agent to teach me how to sneak into buildings undetected..."

* * *

Osaka Harbor Detention Center 

Stuck in solitary confinement for the night, Izzy found it hard to fall asleep on the hard, dank concrete floor. With not even a bench to lie on, the accommodations were far from pleasant. Not that he wanted to sleep anyway, considering everything that was going on.

"Where did I go wrong?" Izzy thought aloud. "How did I end up in this position? And was there someway I could've prevented all of this?"

Suddenly, to his surprise, a crack of light broke into the room as the door into his cell slid open. Izzy shielded the bright light with his hand as his eyes tried to adjust and identify the person in the door.

"Don't tell me there's a rule against thinking to yourself while in solitary!" Izzy cried.

But the 'guard' did not offer up a response.

"Is that a yes... or a no?"

Suddenly, without warning, the 'guard' lunged at Izzy, who spotted the glint of something sharp and steel in the guy's left hand.

"**DIE!**" he yelled, as he landed on top of Izzy, trapping the Digidestined of Knowledge as his attacker reared his hand back and prepared to bring a knife down in his heart.

"**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!**"

* * *

_"Let me get this straight," TK said to Davis, "I can imagine what Kari looks like naked, but my fantasy Kari will never match the real Kari because you actually have to see her in the nude to remember it."_

_"For the fourth time, **YES!**" retorted Davis. "And you've been calling me the dumb one for all these years..."_

_"Uh, guys?" Kari interrupted. "I'm pretty sure you'd like to argue about this 'man' topic all day, but I didn't come back to appease your dream fantasies."_

_"But isn't this a dream to begin with?" the two men asked in unison._

_"You guys are lucky I'm an angel," Kari groaned. "We're not allowed to be anything but happy. But never mind that... the real reason I'm here is to tell you how you can catch the guys that killed me and bring them to justice before they hurt somebody else!"_

_"How do you know that?" Davis asked, scratching his head in confusion._

_"Do you become psychic when you die?" TK wondered out loud._

_"I can't believe this..." Kari shook her head in disbelief. "You two always worshiped the ground I walked on when I was alive! And you almost always did everything I told you to do!"_

_"It's hard to believe you when you're not alive and you're showing off your body for everyone to see except me," grumbled TK._

_"Look! Will you forget about that and worry about the real world for one second? As in, those guys are about to launch nuclear missiles at East Antarctica and the Digidestined have to unite by using the power of their D-3s to stop them!"_

_"Are you serious? Did you hear that, Davis?"_

_TK glanced over at Davis and noticed that he had pulled a handkerchief out of nowhere and used it to blindfold his eyes. But he seemed to be writhing in pain because of it._

_"Aaarrgghh! I'm trying to give Kari some respect, but I can still see her sexy body through this stupid blindfold!"_

_"I give up!" Kari shouted, throwing her arms up in frustration before magically creating a bow and two arrows out of nowhere. "Look, I'll just forward the details to you as you wake up!"_

_"Can you do that?" TK freaked as Kari aimed at him and Davis._

_"Why?" Davis asked, still blindfolded. "Is she bending over or somethin'... that's low, TK! You know my wife's gonna kill me if she finds out what happened here!"_

_"Don't worry! That'll stay a fantasy..." she said as she fired._

_The two arrows hit their marks without fail, knocking both of them out of their sleep..._

* * *

TK woke up in a hurry, drenched in his own sweat. He wasn't exactly sure what had just happened, but despite the time of night, he had this feeling that there was something that he was supposed to do. 

Suddenly, TK heard the door to his room open. He looked up and saw Davis enter, turning on the lights. TK could see that Davis was also sweating profusely in his hospital scrubs.

"Call me crazy," Davis said, "but I have this odd feeling that you and I are supposed to do something together."

TK nodded in agreement. "I guess so."

"Honey..." mumbled Karone, who had been sleeping in the other bed, as she was awakened by Davis' entrance. "What's going... Davis? What are you doing here?"

"I guess that's my job," TK said aloud.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in Arizona, Blue and Michael were finishing up the launch sequence for the nuclear missiles as their two Betamon guarded the door outside. 

"T-minus 30 seconds until launch," a computerized female voice stated over the loudspeaker. "Now locking all access doors to the launch chamber."

"Heh..." snickered Blue. "It's past the point of no return! The missiles will launch and destroy that worthless city! Then, the poor saps will be blame it on the Americans, thus resulting in endless years of fighting that will truly show my fellow Neptunians that they should've trusted you Earthlings when they had the chance!"

"You're really doing this to just start a war?" Michael asked, forced into going along with the plan.

"War's just a means to get revenge. The only reason we're dragging you Americans into it is just so that we have a scapegoat for not calling this an internal civil war."

"And you swear... you let me and Mimi and our son go free?"

"Of course... assuming you find the bitch alive, that is."

"You promised me you wouldn't lay a hand on her!"

"T-minus 15 seconds!"

"I lied. You see, I'm not a fan of the opposite sex... I only prefer the company of men. They have all I need, without the emotional baggage that goes along with women. Hmmm... maybe after we get rid of all of our fellow Neptunians, maybe we'll figure out a way to kill every woman on the planet!"

"Not on my watch, you won't!" a third person yelled as the control room doors slid open, as Red stepped in.

"What?" Blue freaked out. "How the fuck are you still alive?"

Suddenly, a plethora of guards decked in full armor ran into the room and stood near the room's only exit. Guns drawn, they immediately drew them and had them aimed at Blue and Michael.

"You're trespassing on government property!" one of them yelled. "Get down on the floor and spread 'em, NOW!"

Michael immediately complied, lying down face-first on the metal floor underneath him. Blue, on the other hand, just laughed at them.

"It's too late to stop us now!" he exclaimed.

"Launch in five, four..."

"Is somebody trying to override the countdown?" radioed one of the soldiers into his microphone.

"Three..."

"Negative!" somebody replied. "They're going to launch!"

"Two... one... **IGNITION!**"

The military base began to rock as the sound of the nuclear missiles launching from their pods reverberated throughout the entire installation. Blue just smiled as everyone in the room raced for something to brace themselves against... but it was too late, as many of them lost their footing and fell to the floor. That included Red, who was caught off-guard as well as his feet gave out under him.

"Say goodbye to Zan Konolchuk... and hello to World War IV!" Blue yelled, laughing hysterically.

* * *

Author's Notes:  
I bet that was a kick in the pants for you... Davis having seen Kari naked before, while TK hadn't. 

If Davis' flashback seems familiar, it is. Remember Episode 13, the one that ended with Kari dying? Well, in typical 'love triangle' fashion, they had gone to their senior prom as a trio. And as you see in this flashback, the truth is revealed... Davis did have a lot more to drink that night then he originally let on back then.

Call this well-deserved payback for Davis fans who think Kari shortchanged him because she always preferred to be around TK.

**Next Episode - One Ounce of Prevention...**  
The race to round up the bad guys is on, but even more importantly, there are nuclear missiles heading for the city of Zan Konolchuk! Has Kari given TK and Davis the key to stopping the missiles in time? And someone tell Mimi to wake up from her slumber already!


	25. One Ounce of Prevention

"The Circle of the Digidestined," written by Freedom Fighter 

Disclaimer: None of the characters, human or Digimon, belong to me, the writer.

Author's Warning: The following fanfic features gruesome character death, both of the human and Digimon kind, violence of varying levels, some profane language, and some suggestive situations. Please do not read this fanfic if you're underage or feel that you cannot handle any of said features.

This particular episode features some violence and sensual situations.

* * *

Unnamed Secret Military Base, Arizona, USA, 11:59 am EST

"This is the last time I'm going to say it!" a solider yelled in Blue's direction. "Get down on that floor and spread 'em! **NOW!**"

"Or you'll do what?" Blue asked. "Shoot me? We've been going back and forth for five minutes, and I haven't seen any indication that one of you bastards have the guts to bust a cap!"

"Have you gotten in touch with the target city yet?" a second soldier yelled into his walkie talkie. For all we know, it may have hit it already!"

"We should know within a matter of moments!" came the reply from the other side.

"Heh," chuckled Blue, still standing upright by the control panel. "There's no way you'll be able to reach them, with that weather anomaly of a blizzard blanketing everything within a twenty-mile radius of that city!"

"Then how will the missiles make it through? Wouldn't the weather screw with the targeting enough to make it miss the intended target by a few miles?"

"Who do you think controls the anomaly, you fools? Besides, even if we were to allow that to happen, it would still hit close enough to result in a massive amount of casualties."

"Why are you doing this?" Red asked. "It's not too late to stop this! Don't you understand what this will do?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course I know what it'll do! And the genius of my plan is... it can still succeed without any further meddling on my part."

"What does that..."

"But before I go, I'm taking you with me! **SO DIE!**"

Blue pulled a small pistol out of his pocket and moved to fire a shot at Red. But upon seeing the weapon, the military soldiers opened fire without hesitation. In the blink of an eye, bullets started piercing through his body... through his skull, his heart, his hands, and his legs. Blood flied freely all over the nearby control panel and the floor as Blue, having already been killed after one of the first few bullets had pierced his brain, collapsed to the ground.

Upon impact with the ground, Blue's pistol discharged one bullet, which luckily struck the nearby wall without hitting anybody. A pool of blood quickly generated underneath his body as the soldiers had stopped firing and a couple were going over to check on him.

Michael, who was cowering in fear as he continued to lie shaking in fear face-down, quickly heard the gunshots replaced by yelling... some of which was directed at him.

"**DON'T MOVE!**" he heard one yell as he heard several pairs of footsteps clanking towards him. "**KEEP YOUR HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM!**"

Michael complied as he was quickly handcuffed and brought to his feet. Upon doing so, he looked at the now silent Red, who was also in the process of being cuffed by another set of soldiers. Michael then glanced to his right, where he tried to see where Blue was... only to have his view practically obscured by the soldiers examining him.

"He's definitely dead, sir!" one of the examiners stated aloud.

"Take these two and their Digimon to the brig!" the leader of the group ordered. "Put them all in separate cells! We'll deal with them later! In the meantime, get someone in here to clean this mess up!"

Red shot a glare in Michael's direction as the two were led out of the room. He also tried to take one last look at Blue's corpse, but he was already being pushed outside.

**Episode Twenty-Five - One Ounce of Prevention... (12.14.06)**

Osaka Harbor Detention Center, 1:55 am JST (roughly five minutes ago)

Izzy found himself fighting for his own survival as he was trapped on the ground, mustering all his strength to keep a knife from being plunged into his heart. On the other end of the weapon was his attacker, whom Izzy could barely make out in the dimly lit cell, trying desperately to finish off the Digidestined's resident genius.

"Who... are... you?" Izzy grimaced.

"You should know by now, mate," answered his attacker.

Izzy gasped... or would have if he hadn't been focusing on where the knife was in relation to his heart.

"Derek?"

"In the flesh. Though I don't go by my God-given name anymore. I go by Dingo Jack now. Or maybe it should be Green, given our codenames and everything."

"But... why?"

"I'm here to kill you, Izzy. I'm doing so in order to keep you from finding out the truth!"

Suddenly, two prison guards ran into the cell and tackled 'Green' to the ground, forcing the knife out of his hand in the process. Derek struggled to break free, but the two of them were too much for him to handle alone. As Izzy picked himself up from the ground, three more guards arrived at the doorway. Two of them ran towards Izzy and pushed him hard into the wall, pinning him against a surface once again.

"What the hell is going on in here?" the guard in the doorway asked. "And how did he get in here?" he followed up with, pointing at 'Green.' "Get that scumbag out of my sight before I beat him to a pulp myself!"

The two guards got Derek to his feet and dragged him towards the door, though the Australian resisted mightily, trying to break free of their grip. Seeing this, the guard at the doorway, who looked like he was the leader of the group, walked over and delivered an uppercut to the gut. The blow succeeded in knocking enough wind out of Derek that he stopped struggling instantly, making it easier for him to be dragged out.

Once Derek was out of the room, the duo that were restraining Izzy released their grip on him. They then immediately walked past the Head Guardsman and out of the cell, leaving the duo alone.

"You mind telling me what's going on?" the Captain asked. "You two have a disagreement on your escape plan or something?"

"Couldn't you see that he was trying to kill me?" Izzy shot back.

"So it seemed. But you never answered my question."

"He wants to shut me up! That's why they all framed me... because I know too much! Now they want to kill me for it!"

"Oh, really? Well, we're going to get to the bottom of this! Guards!"

The same two guards that had just ran out of the room came back in, this time to handcuff Izzy's wrists. Once that was done, they led him out, following the Head Guardsman towards the interrogation quarters.

* * *

Miami, Florida

Centarumon gasped heavily as he trotted alongside the highway, heading north towards the outskirts of the city. Riding on his back were Maria and Mimi, the latter still asleep with her arms draped around the former's stomach.

"Sure a deep sleeper, isn't she?" Centarumon observed.

"I guess so, given all the running around she had been doing," Maria replied. "I'd rather have her awake so I can tell her what's going on, but she doesn't seem to respond to anything!"

"What a dra... uh, Maria?"

"Hmm?"

Centarumon pointed straight ahead, as a group of seven Digimon appeared on the horizon, all walking in their direction. Maria pulled out her D-3 and tried to analyze them in order to assess the situation.

"They're too far away to identify them," she said, glancing at the D-3 screen, "but they're definitely Digimon. Seven in all. Looks like all rookie-level."

"Where'd they come from? And are they coming for us?"

Centarumon came to a halt all of a sudden, spooking Maria slightly as she looked up. The seven Digimon had started to run towards them.

"They're going to attack!"

"Damn it!" Maria cursed, before turning to Mimi and starting to shake her. "Wake up, you! Wake up, damn it!"

"I can't attack with you two riding on me!" Centarumon exclaimed.

"We're going to have to run then! It's our only hope!"

"Wait!" one of the Digimon shouted.

"Wha?"

Maria's D-3 then started beeping loudly as the results of the Digimon Analysis were coming through. Seeing their identifies revealed, she breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

"Calm down, Centarumon... they're on our side."

"You sure?"

"Mimi!" cried Palmon, leading the pack as she leapt up, bounced off of Centarumon's head, and landed right in Maria's face. She had hit them with enough momentum that the three of them, Mimi included as she was still holding onto Maria by the waist, fell backwards and off of Centarumon.

"Sí, incluso si su manera del saludonos seamos poco ortodoxo (Yes, even if their way of greeting us is unorthodox.)," Maria remarked in Spanish, wincing in pain as she had landed on top of Mimi... who had finally been awakened thanks to the fall and to Palmon rubbing her face against her.

"Ack, Palmon!" Mimi yelled. "What did I tell you about you and making your kinky dreams a reality!"

"Get a room, you two!" the other six Digimon yelled at the same time.

Maria got to her feet and saw Agumon, Floramon, Gomamon, Gatomon, Patamon, and Veemon standing there before her and Centarumon, happy as could be. Mimi followed soon afterwards, carrying Palmon in her arms.

"Is that you, Maria?" Mimi asked, not instantly recognizing her. "And can you tell me where am I and what I'm doing here?"

"It's a long story..."

* * *

"What? What do you mean Michael, my own husband, tried to have me kidnapped?" Mimi freaked out. "And you... you saved me? By pulling me out of a moving taxicab in the midst of rush hour in downtown New York?"

"I honestly didn't see that coming!" Agumon admitted.

"I don't think any of us did," Gatomon added.

"But why would he do such a thing?" wondered Gomamon out loud.

"We haven't figured that out yet," Maria said. "And by me, I mean the rest of the American Digidestined. We had a feeling that Michael was working with those same guys who attacked all of those Digimon villages earlier today. And have killed all of those innocent people and Digimon. Though to be fair, we don't know how deep Michael is in this thing... at the least, we know he's working for them in some capacity."

"And you guys didn't think to warn me of this beforehand... why?"

"We didn't have any proof! We didn't want to approach you and Michael with circumstantial evidence. He is, after all, our faithful leader. Well... he was faithful."

"Wait... what about my boy? Is Monty..."

"He's safe and sound back at Steve's house in Denver. He found your butler and your babysitter watching them and took them out of the mansion for their protection... just in case Michael or someone else came after them. Obviously, your husband didn't want to get him involved in all this, so he probably told them to keep an eye on him as per normal. The both of them were as clueless as you are now when Steve dropped by."

"But what would drive Michael to do such a thing?"

"Especially after how much we trusted him over the years!" Palmon added.

"Phil and Lou are taking care of that, and they're working with Tai to figure out an answer."

"Tai?"

Maria nodded. "Yes. Apparently, you weren't the only kidnapping target..."

Mimi gasped. "Peg and Jake... Tai's wife and his kid!"

"No need to worry," Maria reassured, putting a hand on Mimi's shoulder. "They're alright."

* * *

East Meadows, New York

"Peg!"

"Tai!"

Tai smiled with glee as his wife emerged from a nearby police tactical van, looking fine with the exception of a few bandages covering up some bruises and minor cuts. Peg ran into Tai's waiting arms, and the two shared a long hug and a kiss, both happy that the other was alright.

"Oh God, I was so worried that something bad had happened..."

"It was horrible, Tai. Just horrible!"

"It's okay... Phil told me everything. Where's Jake?"

As if on cue, the door to the van opened again, and Jake appeared, being carried out by a police officer. He also had some bandages on him, mostly on his legs.

"Jake!" Tai shouted, running over to his son.

The officer squatted down and put Jake down on the ground feet first, where he waited for his father to come over.

"Jake... boy am I glad you're alright!" Tai exclaimed as he picked his son up from the ground and gave him a hug.

"We got attacked by some bad Digimon, daddy! I was scared... and I got hurt..."

"It's okay. Daddy's here now. And I'm gonna protect you, no matter what!"

Tai held his son tight and refused to let go for what seemed like several minutes. Peg joined them, sharing in a loving embrace as the police officers around them looked on, some doing their hardest to hold back tears of joy... but to no avail.

Phil was among those who were watching, and he probably would've broken down in tears as well if not for Lou suddenly running up and whispering something into his ear. Something that quickly put Phil in a state of panic, as he ran over to break the family up.

"I don't want to break up this scene..." Phil started to say.

"Something bad's happened, hasn't it?" Tai asked, handing his son over to Peg.

"Remember how I told you that our so-called 'terrorists' intend to destroy their own people in East Antarctica? Well... they're in the process of making that a reality."

Tai gave Phil a puzzled look, not exactly sure what he was hinting at.

"About ten minutes, two nuclear missiles were launched from a secret military base in Arizona. They're heading for Zan Konolchuk, the most populous city in East Antarctica."

Peg gasped with fright. "Those monsters! Are they trying to start a war?"

"They won't if the military can stop them."

"The problem is... they can't seem to deactivate the missiles. And at their current speed, they'll hit their target in about 20 minutes."

"If they can't stop it... is there a way we can?"

Phil nodded slowly. "There might be one way. How fast do you think we can get in touch with the rest of the Digidestined?"

* * *

Osaka General Hospital

Davis peered out into the hallway, trying to see if there was anyone around. He could also see the nurses' station, which at the moment was vacant.

"Okay, the coast is clear!"

Davis opened the door, stepped out, and waited as TK followed, hobbling out with crutches to support himself with. A concerned Karone was standing next to him, distraught over what her husband was about to do.

"You're in no condition to do this!" she pleaded. "I know you feel bad for not being able to save Kari's life, but you don't have to do this!"

"This isn't about getting revenge for Kari," TK said to her. "This is about potentially saving thousands of lives. I have to do this."

"Davis... please convince TK not to go with you!"

"Uh..." Davis hesitated, trying to stay out of the argument.

"I'll be fine," TK reassured his wife. "Davis will be there to protect me. And so will Patamon and Veemon."

"What?" Davis gawked in surprise. "But..."

TK winked at his friend, then turned to look at Karone again.

"Nothing's going to happen. We're just going to save the world."

TK leaned over and gave Karone a quick peck on the lips. He then nodded at Davis, who walked over to the nurses' station and aimed his D-3 at one of the computer monitors.

"But how are you going to..." Karone murmured before a Digi-port appeared before them.

"I guess luck's on our side!" Davis said with a goofy grin. "So, let's hit the road!"

"Please... be careful."

TK nodded as he and Davis were sucked into the computer monitor. In a flash, the Digi-port disappeared, leaving Karone standing alone in the barren, quiet hallway.

Or was she?

"Mrs. Takashi?"

"Eek!" Karone screamed, turning around and seeing a man standing behind her.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Didn't mean to frighten you like that."

"Wait..." Karone said, remembering his face. "Aren't you Ryo? Kari's... uh..."

"You can say it... Kari's husband."

Karone breathed a sigh of relief. "You scared me for a second. Hey... wait a minute! Aren't visiting hours over? How'd you get up here?"

Ryo ignored her question and instead imposed one of his own.

"Where's Ken's room?"

* * *

Digimon Research Lab

"I'm glad that's finally over," Matt said as he emerged from an office room with his D-3 in hand.

"I've already forwarded the necessary documents to the proper authorities," Penelope buzzed over the pseudo-communicator. "They should be letting him out of his cell in a few minutes, tops."

"Well, now that I've saved Izzy's butt... time to save the butt of someone else near and dear to me!"

"There's no need for that, Digidestined of Friendship!"

Matt peered over his shoulder and saw Francois, Catherine's fiancé, standing behind him with a few soldiers around him. They had their rifles in hand, but they weren't aiming them at Matt. Suddenly, Sora appeared, pushing her way through the group and running towards Matt.

"Matt!" she cried.

"Sora! You're alright!"

Sora jumped up off the ground and leaped at Matt, wrapping her arms around the back of his neck and her legs around his waist. The two shared a long, passionate kiss, swapping saliva, to the disgust of Penelope, who was watching from behind Sora's head.

"Ugh... remind me never to fall in love with a boy."

Penelope then logged off, her job having been completed. Matt and Sora finally stopped to give themselves a breather, and to explain what had happened.

"Are you okay, honey?" Matt asked. "I'm sorry for leaving you at gunpoint like that."

Sora laughed, then playfully punched Matt in the shoulder. "Hey, I'm the one who told you to leave me! For the good of the mission. Speaking of which..."

"Done and done," Matt said, holding up his D-3. "They should be waking him up and shuffling him out of his cell in minutes!"

"Thank goodness!"

"So... what about the real traitor?"

"He's in our custody," Francois cut in. "When we spotted him with Sora at gunpoint, we had him quickly surrounded. He decided to surrender, apparently valuing his own life over the multitude of charges we're going to lay on him. He'll be spending the rest of his days behind bars for what he did."

"What about us?"

"We'll drop the trespassing charges, Matt... provided you and your wife do a favor for us."

"Such as?"

* * *

Francois led Matt and Sora back to the main research lab, where the staff was hard at work investigating reports of a disturbance over the Pacific Ocean.

"About fourteen minutes ago," Francois told them, "a pair of nukes was launched from the United States. At first, we thought they were headed for Japan... isn't that right, Rena?"

At a nearby computer was Rena Yagami, the building caretaker whom had left shortly after the accident involving Joe and the two other scientists who had died in the Jagamon stampede, had been called back in for duty.

"We just learned about this a few minutes ago. While it's true that the two missiles were heading towards Tokyo, they have since disappeared."

"Disappeared?" Matt gasped in shock.

"How is that possible?" Sora asked.

"At first we thought the missiles had cloaked themselves, but that particular missile model lacks such a capability. But then we noticed some strange energy envelope them about 650 miles north-northeast of the eastern Japan coast. An energy you two might be familiar with..."

Rena brought up a map of the area in question, which showed a light blue ring of energy circling about the two missiles. A few freeze frames later, both the ring and the missiles vanished.

"That looks like..." Sora began.

"...the opening of a Digi-port!" finished Matt.

"There are Digi-ports in the middle of the ocean?" a confused Francois asked.

"Six, to be exact," Sora explained. "Spread all over the world."

"But only one of them isn't underwater... the one at this coordinate exists about 40,000 feet above sea level," Matt told them.

"As such, it's the highest Digi-port in the world. And one that, subsequently, is rarely accessed from either side."

"So whomever launched the missile apparently knew that. Someone in America," Francois pointed out, noting that the missiles' origin in Arizona. "But who?"

Suddenly, Matt's D-3 began to beep loudly. He answered it and saw Tai on the other side, in a somber state of haste.

"Matt! Thank goodness you answered!"

"What's going on?" Matt asked as Sora squeezed in next to him.

"Sora's with you, good... look, we've got a situation! There are two missiles that were just launched from a base in Arizona..."

"We know," Sora cut in. "We're tracking it from here."

"Here? Where's here?"

"The Digimon Research Lab in Osaka."

"I thought the military had kicked you... never mind that! We have to stop it! We figured out that they're heading for Zan Konolchuk, a city in East Antarctica!"

Matt and Sora looked at each other in shock.

"Did America declare war on them?"

"It's a long story that I don't have time to go through! Those missiles are gonna hit in about fifteen minutes!"

"Actually," Rena interrupted, calculating some vectors with a few of the other researchers. "Given the latest development, I say we have considerably less than that."

"What latest development? And what do you mean by considerably less?"

"Yeah," Matt said hesitantly. "What kind of time frame are we talking about here?"

"284-and-a-half seconds," Rena told them. "And counting."

"How?" Tai wondered out loud. "How is that possible?"

"Tai," Sora said solemnly, "the missiles are traveling through the Digital World. Whomever launched them managed to open the Digi-port above the Pacific Ocean."

"You mean the 'Forgotten' Port?"

"Well, it's not exactly forgotten anymore... especially if those missiles hit their targets."

"This isn't good. We're going to have only one chance to save that city."

"And how's that?" Matt asked, wanting for Tai to get to the point.

"We have to rely on the power of our D-3s. We need to call forth... the Circle of the Digidestined!"

* * *

Author's Notes:  
I have to admit... Blue's death did not end up as dramatic as I thought it would be, but it definitely served its purpose. Now the only real person to worry about is the leader of the 'terrorist' cell himself, Jindra Maseroon.

In case anyone's having a case of memory failure... Steve was the only American Digidestined that hadn't been mentioned in this story. Until now, of course.

Can 'The Circle of the Digidestined' save a city of innocents from being obliterated by two nuclear missiles? You're gonna have to come back next week for the exciting conclusion!

**Next Episode - ...Brings Things Full Circle**  
Only 'The Circle of the Digidestined' has the power to stop the missiles from hitting Zan Konolchuk. What does it involve? Will it work? Will one of our heroes sacrifice himself in the process? You don't want to miss this finale!


	26. Brings Things Full Circle

"The Circle of the Digidestined," written by Freedom Fighter 

Disclaimer: None of the characters, human or Digimon, belong to me, the writer.

Author's Warning: The following fanfic features gruesome character death, both of the human and Digimon kind, violence of varying levels, some profane language, and some suggestive situations. Please do not read this fanfic if you're underage or feel that you cannot handle any of said features.

This particular episode features some coarse language, violence, and instances of character death.

* * *

Digimon Research Laboratory, Osaka, Japan, 2:10 am JST 

"Is it possible for us all to pull this off?" Matt asked, as Sora fiddled with her D-3 in the background.

"We have to," Tai replied, from his location in New York, as Phil and Lou were doing the same off to either side of him. "I know our time is short, but this is our only hope!"

"But how many of the Digidestined will we need?"

"I don't know... that's for Izzy to figure out!"

"You mean you didn't think this through?"

"It's not like I had time to! We're talking about saving a couple thousand lives in a matter of mere minutes here!"

"Damn it! Can we really afford to wing it?"

"We're going to have to find out, won't we? As we speak, the D-3 of every person that was a Digidestined exactly 25 years ago is beeping, imploring all of the recipients to raise their D-3 to the skies in hoping of getting enough power to be sent through the Digiworld to stop those missiles before they reach their target!"

Sora gasped as she overheard that, as she ran over and snatched Matt's D-3 from her.

"Hey!" Matt yelled.

"Tai! We have to have at least one Digidestined and a Digimon partner to receive that power on the other side! Without it, there's nothing on the other side to direct it towards the missiles!"

"Shit!" Matt cursed, before glancing over his shoulder and noticing the Digi-port generator. "Unless..."

"We can't," Sora reminded him. "We don't know where Gabumon is. But... we do know where Biyomon is!"

"Biyomon?" Tai blinked. "He's with you now?"

"Now hold on a minute!" Matt objected. "That means..."

"Yes," Sora nodded. "Biyomon and I are going to have to go in there and be the mirror."

**Episode Twenty-Six - ...Brings Things Full Circle (12.22.06)**

Osaka General Hospital

Ryo was standing in front of Room 310 as he took a deep breath before opening the door slowly. He peered inside and saw Cody fast asleep in the bed closest to him. He then glanced over closer towards the window on the opposite side, and there Ken was sleeping in the other bed.

"I guess I'll find out the truth at last," Ryo said to himself.

* * *

_A little over an hour ago, outside the Digimon Research Laboratory..._

_Ryo stood by Matt's car as Matt and Sora were running off through the woods. Once they had disappeared, Ryo smiled as he reached into his pocket and pulled out some car keys._

_"I'm surprised I was able to take his keys without him knowing," Ryo said aloud as he turned about and walked toward the car. "Now, to take care of business."_

_Ryo hopped into the car, started it, and began to drive away, back towards the city._

* * *

"I'm going to get to the bottom of this, Digimon Emperor. I just know you've gone back to your old ways... and you're responsible for taking my Kari from me." 

Ryo quietly crept over towards the near side of Ken's bed. But as he got over there and reached to awaken Ken from his slumber to begin his questioning, something else did.

The sound of two D-3s beeping loudly... Cody's, which was sitting in plain view on the nightstand between the two beds, and Ken's, which could be heard from his pants, which were draped on a chair on the opposite of the room. The sounds, naturally, woke both of the Digidestined up in a hurry. Panicked, Ryo jumped on Ken's bed and pinned his arms to it before he could move.

"What the... who the..." Ken shouted.

"You're not going anywhere!" Ryo said angrily. "Not until you tell me the truth!"

"What's all the racket?" Cody asked as he simultaneously noticed Ryo on Ken and his D-3 beeping off like an alarm clock. "And what are you doing with Ken?"

"Nothing. If he tells me what I need to know."

Cody grimaced as he reached for his D-3 to shut off the ringer.

"It's a message from Tai!" Cody stated.

"It must be important," Ken deduced as his D-3 continued to ring out. "Do you mind getting off?"

Ryo glared at Ken for a moment, debating whether or not to do so. As he was still deciding, Cody read the message aloud.

"It says he wants us to raise our D-3s to the sky! And he says do it now!"

"He must be calling for the Circle of the Digidestined! But... why?"

Cody got up from his bed and ran over to get Ken's D-3. Turning off the ringer, he discovered the same message on his as well.

"Yep, same message here too. It must be really urgent."

"Wait a minute..." Ken remembered. "If that's so, then Yolei's D-3 is probably ringing as well. I've gotta go..."

Ken tried to get up, but Ryo continued to hold him down.

"What are you doing?" Cody asked.

"Yeah, what's your problem?" Ken added.

"I'm not letting you go until you tell me what I want to know!"

"And that is?"

Ryo stared at Ken once again, seemingly not wanting to respond to the query. At least, not with Cody in the room, as he glanced at him.

"Obviously, he thinks it's a private matter," Ken deduced. "Go ahead and check on my wife, Cody."

"But... Ken!"

"I'll be fine. Ryo here doesn't want to kill me or anything. He just wants... a talk. She's in 407."

Cody nodded, placed Ken's D-3 back where he had found it, then left the room, heading for the elevator. Once they were alone, Ryo got off of Ken and the bed, and walked over to Cody's and sat down on it. Relieved to be released, Ken sat up slowly, keeping his eye on Ryo the entire time.

"So, spit it out. By the urgency of this message, I don't have time to play detective."

"You seemed pretty calm when we pulled you out of that frigid wonderland. Especially since Sora had just told you that Kari was dead after I had introduced myself."

"Let me guess... you think it was an act?"

"Why not? After all, you are the famous Digimon Emperor! The one who brought sorrow to the Digiworld!"

"Ex-Digimon Emperor, Ryo. And those days are long behind me. I'm not proud of what I did back then, regardless of whether I was in control of what had happened or not. But I swore to myself that I'd never go to the dark side ever again."

"So you can say with certainty that you had nothing to do with Kari's death?"

Ken paused for a second, realizing what Ryo was getting at.

"You're trying to find someone to put the blame on. You chose me because of my past, because I'm so easy to pin as the bad guy. You're looking for closure so you can move on from this horrible ordeal. I understand... but you need to open your eyes to the truth. I would never do anything to hurt Kari. All of us Digidestined... we're like family. Brothers and sisters. It would be unthinkable to hurt someone as close as she is to me. To the entire team."

"I understand what you're saying... but how do I know for sure? Tell me... how do I know you're not pulling my leg?"

"You could surely ask Cody for the truth. Or Yolei. Or any of our Digimon. We were all out there in that tent freezing our asses off together. And we had no way out. No way to personally have a hand in her death. Of course, there's the argument that I could've ordered someone else to do it, leaving me as the mastermind. But you'll just have to trust that I didn't make any such order to anyone."

Ryo sat there silently, not knowing how to grasp Ken's deductions. He continued to show no reaction as Ken slowly crawled out of bed and made his way over to his pants to get his D-3 out.

"If you really think I'm responsible for Kari's death, then do what you believe it's necessary. If that involves killing me, then so be it."

Ken pulled the D-3 out and started walking towards the window. Once there, he motioned as if he was going to reach for the sky. But he stopped to turn to look at Ryo once more, who was still frozen on Cody's bed.

"But if I'm not, then let me do what I have to do here. In the morning, I'll tackle this case and bring Kari's true killer to justice. I promise."

Ken waited for Ryo to react. Kari's husband finally did, rising to his feet and slowly making his way to the door, his head lowered in sadness.

"You're... very convincing. You know that?"

"It comes with the job description," Ken replied.

"Call Sora in the morning. She'll tell you where I'm staying for the night. Oh, and... sorry for accusing you."

Ken nodded. "We'll get these guys."

Ryo let a smile creep across his face before departing from the room. Ken then turned his attention back to the window and lifted his D-3 into the sky. A large beam of light shot forth from it, heading for points unknown.

On the other side of the building and a floor up, Yolei, somewhat blue in the face and with her nose running, managed to get enough strength to drape her arm around the back of Cody's neck and get to the window, where they also raised their D-3s to the sky above.

* * *

Around the world, the other Digidestined had gotten the message and were doing the same, regardless of what time of day or night it was. From married couple Yuri and Anna in Russia, the latter holding their baby son in her arms as they stood on the balcony of their house just outside of Moscow, to Rosa, who had been speaking to an archeology class at a university in Mexico City, they all got the call. 

Including...

* * *

Digital World's Eastern Quadrant, Sector 1.05 

Davis and TK were standing near the top of a mountain, where the narrow ledges and the howling winds forced them to lean their backs against the mountainside. Above them, the clouds had been gathering, as if they were about to open up and dump a whole bunch of snow on them.

"We're sure this is the place?" Davis asked again.

"Positive!" TK confirmed. "Knowing Kari, she'd never lie to me. Keep secrets, maybe..."

"Dude... you're still hung up on that me having seen her naked bit?"

Before TK could elicit a response, both of their D-3s started to go off. Davis and TK both answered it at the same time, and were presented with the same message as the other Digidestined.

"The missiles?"

"It must be, Davis. Quick... send Tai a message back. Tell him where we are."

"Roger!"

* * *

East Meadows, New York 

"Is everything going to be alright, honey?" Peg asked her husband as she carried their son Jake in her arms.

"I hope so," Tai tried to reassure her.

"We're ready," Phil said aloud, prompting Tai to turn to his left and see Phil and Lou standing there.

"So all of the American Digidestined have been contacted?"

"'Cept for Michael. We can't reach him."

"Regardless of his situation, we don't have time to find out why."

Tai's D-3 then began beeping loudly, to his surprise.

"What... what is it?" Lou wondered.

Tai pressed a button to turn off the ringer, then looked at the message. It read 'TK and I are in the Digital World.'

"TK? And the message... is from Davis?"

* * *

"Sacre bleu!" Catherine gasped as she was led back into the main lab room by the same two guards from earlier. 

She saw the scientists in the room furiously preparing the Digi-port generator for usage as Sora was being outfitted with body armor and safety and mountain-climbing equipment. Matt was reluctantly helping, not completely sure Sora should be risking her life so soon after just getting out of another tough situation.

"There's gotta be another way," Matt tried to reason. "We can find a way to find Gabumon and get him here so the two of us can go instead of you and Biyomon."

"We can't," Sora told him. "Rena and the others haven't pinpointed where Catherine sent them. We don't have time to guess. We do know where Biyomon is, though, and between Rena here and Chiharu back at the hot springs resort, they can manage to have her meet me at the interception point."

"Actually, I can tell you if it'll help," Catherine ran over, interrupting them.

"Catherine?" they both shouted in surprise.

"Francois ordered moi to help out in any way I could."

"But what about..." Matt began before Catherine stopped him.

"We'll worry about that later, mes amies. For now... we need to open a Digi-port to Miami!"

"I've forwarded the location to Chiharu-chan!" Rena exclaimed from her seat. "If Gabumon is there, near a Digi-port generation point, and has someone with a D-3 with him..."

"That's a lot of ifs there," Sora said. "We don't have time for ifs. Put Chiharu back on getting Biyomon to meet me at..."

"No need, Sora..." Tai cut in, still patched in through Matt's D-3's video feed. "We've already got two on the inside."

"Two?" Matt asked.

"Your brother and Davis."

"What? But TK was in surgery just hours ago! How did he..."

"I don't know, but they're both there. They know the situation, and they want us to send them Patamon and Veemon."

"With two Digidestined and their partners," Rena said aloud, "that will greaten their chances of success in stopping the missile. 59 more than Sora and Biyomon could manage on their own."

"Are you sure that's accurate? Like I said, my bro was just in surgery! Davis had some injuries too... you mean they still have the strength to succeed? Sora and I have a much better chance!"

Suddenly, the sirens inside the lab began to go off. Sora, Matt, and Catherine looked around the room and saw the scientists even more panicked than before as they ran about, checking instrument panels and system read-outs.

"What's going on?" Tai asked, hard to hear over the sirens.

"We're not sure," Sora said, a tinge of fear in her voice.

"**GET THOSE THINGS UNDER CONTROL!**" Rena screamed as loud as her voice would allow, as the crew around her furiously worked to do so.

Seconds later, the sirens stopped ringing, to everyone's relief. Francois, curious as to the noise, ran into the room.

"What's going on in here?" he asked.

Everyone looked to Rena for an explanation, and she quickly obliged.

"The system was... or is, overloading. Something is keeping us from generating enough power to get the Digi-port Generator up and running at a safe capacity."

"How?" Sora asked, walking over with her husband and Catherine.

Rena shrugged her shoulders. "I think it's a virus, but I'm not sure. It hasn't completely paralyzed our OS, but it has done enough to cripple it enough to hurt us."

"Get to the point... can you extinguish it?" Francois asked.

"Yes... but the time it would take to do so..."

"We'd be too late to stop the missiles," figured Sora.

"We'll have to rely on the Circle," Tai said aloud. "Matt, get outside with Sora and Catherine... we'll need all the help we can muster. I'll have to tell TK and Davis to get out of..."

"It's not a complete loss," Rena stopped Tai short.

"What do you mean?"

"Chiharu is assuring me that she can get a Digi-port in Miami open, she just needs us to provide the power."

"Can we?"

"Yes."

"But we would still need the D-3 of a Digidestined to receive the open command there," Sora reminded them.

Suddenly, another round of sirens went off. This one was more sedated, though, and lasted only a few seconds. But that was long enough for a map to appear on Rena's screen, and the gang ran over to look at it with her.

"Guess what..." Rena said with a smile.

"There's two signals!" Matt exclaimed.

Sora slapped herself on the forehead. "I just remembered... Maria has a beach house in Miami!"

"What was that?" Tai shouted, not looking at his D-3 but yelling off-screen at someone. "Why didn't you tell us..."

"Did you hear that, Tai?"

"Yeah, Sora... apparently, Phil and Lou conveniently forgot to told me that Maria's down there. And Mimi's with her."

"**WHAT?**" the Digidestined at the lab all shouted simultaneously.

"She had told them about half an hour ago that they were leaving the area to keep Michael, who Maria thought might have been tracking them, from finding the two of them."

"Sacre bleu!" Catherine shouted. "Those coordinates are awfully close to where I zent them!"

"The Digimon?"

"It makes sense," Rena said. "If Maria and Mimi had left the Miami area by car, their D-3s would not be pinging where they are now. They would've been too far away. Which means they left by some slower means... or weren't able to leave the area at all."

"Can we get in contact with one of them?" Matt asked.

"Mimi, are you there?" Sora asked, already one step ahead, having dialed up Mimi's number through her D-3.

"That's my girl," Matt said with a smile.

* * *

Somewhere near Miami, Florida 

Agumon, Gabumon, Patamon, Veemon, Gomamon, Gatomon, Floramon, and Centarumon were gathered around Mimi and Maria, who were chatting with Matt through Mimi's D-3. He was busy explaining the situation to them.

"Wait, slow down!" Mimi yelled. "You're talking too fast for me understand! I thought we were supposed to be doing the 'Circle!'"

"May I?" Maria prompted, signifying that she wanted the D-3.

"I've never been able to understand that man," Mimi huffed as she handed her D-3 over.

"Let me get this straight... you want me to open a Digi-port to where now?"

"Eastern Quadrant, Sector 1.5!" Matt told her. "And we need to do it now. We're sending you the coding now... you should be able to open the Digi-port just by aiming your D-3 in the correct direction."

"Rena told me to give you this," Sora told Matt off-screen before handing him a sticky note that became visible to Maria.

"Okay... turn 83 degrees to your left and take five steps forward. Then activate the portal generator on your D-3."

Maria nodded, then did as she was told, breaking away from the group. Once in position, she pressed a few buttons on her D-3. In an instant, a Digi-port did open about twenty feet in front of her.

"Got it!"

"Send Veemon and Patamon through! Now!"

"Veemon! Patamon! Davis and TK need you!"

"Davish needs us!" Veemon exclaimed happily.

"Let's go then!" Patamon added.

The two Digimon ran past Maria and leaped into the Digi-port, which closed immediately after they went through.

"Thanks for the assist, Maria!" Matt thanked her.

"Anything to get these terroristas!"

Maria signed off, nodded to Mimi, who walked up beside her with the other Digimon in tow, and then they raised their D-3s to the sky once more.

* * *

TK and Davis continued to be pinned to the side of the mountain as they waited for some kind of response from Tai or one of the other Digidestined regarding getting their Digimon sent to them. Suddenly, a Digi-port opened up in between them, and out of it walked Veemon and Patamon. 

"Veemon!"

"Davish!"

"Patamon!"

"TK!"

"Boy, am I glad to see you!" Davis exclaimed as Veemon jumped up into his arms.

"Me too!" Veemon replied with a smile.

"Oh my gosh... are you alright?" Patamon asked TK with concern.

"Nothing that a few weeks rest can't cure," TK reassured him.

"TK... come in, TK!" Matt yelled, sending a video transmission to his brother's D-3.

"I'm here, Matt!"

"Are you sure you're up to this?"

"We don't have much of a choice. What do we do?"

Rena squeezed her way onto the screen and began feeding instructions to him. Davis and Veemon walked over to listen in as well.

"Okay," Rena said. "You'll only get one chance at this. If you guys can't destroy both missiles in the next two minutes..."

"The city of Zan Konolchuk will become a crater," TK said, aware of what was at stake.

"Good luck! We're all counting on you!"

"Alright... ready, Davis?"

"Born ready, TK!"

"Patamon!"

"Veemon!"

"**DIGI-VOLUTION TIME!**"

"Patamon digivolve to..."

"Veemon digivolve to..."

Patamon and Veemon went through the Digi-volution sequences, upgrading into their champion-level forms.

"**ANGEMON!**"

"**EXVEEMON!**"

Angemon and ExVeemon appeared before their partners briefly before taking off, flying in the direction of the approaching missiles. The two nukes had just appeared over the horizon and were closing in fast.

"Vee Laser!" yelled ExVeemon as the insignia on the front of his body lit up and then fired a V-shaped beam into the air.

"Hand of Fate... Cha!" shouted Angemon, making a punching motion with his right arm, from which a beam of light was produced as well.

The two lasers streaked towards the same missile, and looked as if they were going to hit their target. Then, without warning, the two beams dissipated in an instant, breaking up before they could hit the target.

"What the..." Davis cried out.

"I think they're too far away," noted TK. "**TRY AGAIN, GUYS!**"

"Vee Laser!"

"Hand of Fate!"

This time around, both attacks reached the target, hitting it square in the nose cone. The missile exploded into many pieces, which rained down from the sky and fell towards the forest below.

"Are you sure we should be detonating these over an area heavy populated with forest dwelling Digimon?" TK asked Rena.

"We have no choice. That being said, there's a team of human and Digimon decontaminators about ten minutes out."

"We'd find another way if there was time," Tai said reluctantly. "But we have to take these missiles down now!"

"TK... it looks like the other one's picking up speed!" Davis said, pointing to the sky at the remaining nuke.

"I've got it... Vee Laser!"

ExVeemon fired, but he had been too slow, as the beam didn't get there in time to cut the missile off.

"We're going to have to turn it up a notch!" TK yelled, raising his D-3 to the sky. "Time for Ultimate Digivolution!"

"Angemon digivolve to... **MAGNAANGEMON**!"

As the digivolution sequence finished up, the missile passed above the two Digimon overhead.

"We're running out of time!" Davis exclaimed. "Do something already!"

"Vee Laser!" ExVeemon screamed, firing another blast.

ExVeemon's latest attack connected, hitting the missile's tailfin, completely destroying it. But not the missile itself, which without any rocket power to propel it, began nose-diving towards the mountain.

Towards where TK and Davis were standing.

"Davish, no!" ExVeemon yelled, realizing his mistake and flying towards his partner.

"Gotta stop that..." MagnaAngemon muttered to himself as he started gathering energy.

"TK! Davis!" Matt yelled over the D-3. "Get out of the way!"

"Somebody do something!" Sora shouted. "Somebody get them out of there!"

But there was nothing the Digidestined could do in time. They could only watch helplessly from their D-3s around the world as the missile fell towards the mountain.

"MagnaAngemon!" TK cried.

"He must be calling for the Gate of Destiny," Davis thought to himself. "But there's not enough time!"

Davis only had a split second to make some sort of move. And then, like clockwork, it came to him. As if it was destined to be the right move to make.

"Forgive me..."

"Huhwaaa..." was all TK could muster before Davis had run over and pushed the Digidestined of Hope off of the cliff.

"Tell Dora that I love her."

"Davisssssss..."

"**GATE OF...**" MagnaAngemon started to shout, before out of the corner of his eye, spotting that his partner had fallen off of the mountain. "**TK!**"

MagnaAngemon stopped his attack and flew as fast he could to catch TK before he hit the bottom. In doing so, he knew that he was leaving Davis and ExVeemon to fend for themselves. He didn't want to have to, but the situation had left him in a position to save only one Digidestined.

"I'm coming, Davish!" ExVeemon yelled.

ExVeemon was flying as fast as he could to head off the missile. But not fast enough, as it was painfully obvious that he wasn't going to make it there in time. Regardless, he wasn't going to abandon his partner. And despite what was about to happen, Davis had a smile on his face.

"Thanks for being the best partner ever," Davis thought to himself, though he somehow shot them towards ExVeemon to make sure he heard them too. "I've never regretting being partnered with you. You're the best Digimon in the world."

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you," ExVeemon telegraphed back.

"It's okay... the mission's accomplished, and that's all that matters."

The missile collided with the mountainside about ten feet above Davis' head, exploding with a ball of fire and practically taking out the upper half of that entire face, ledges and all, on impact.

Down below, TK looked up and saw the giant explosion, watching debris quickly fly at a torrid pace in many directions. At the same time, he glanced down and saw the ground below rapidly approaching.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, MagnaAngemon swooped in and caught TK and flew away from the mountain as fast as possible, as debris began to pour down and hit the ground at an alarming rate. TK looked up at where he had been on the mountain just seconds earlier, and so did MagnaAngemon. They both wanted to go back up there, but they reluctantly knew there wasn't anything they could do.

* * *

Back at the Digimon Research Laboratory, many of the scientists were whooping and hollering with glee over the missiles being successfully destroyed before reaching East Antarctica. But neither Rena or any of the Digidestined were joyful, especially after what they had just seen. Catherine had already broken down in tears, crying as Sora gave her a consoling hug. Matt seemed relieved that TK was okay, but he wasn't happy about what Davis did. 

"Why did he... he could've saved himself too! I mean, I'm glad for him saving TK, but... he didn't have to go and get **HIMSELF KILLED**!"

"I can't imagine what his family's going to go through," Rena stated, saddened.

"Incoming message from the sector..." one of the scientists in the room yelled from his seat. "The decontamination squadron has arrived on the scene! They're requesting medical assistance!"

"Very well," Francois barked. "Prep a team immediately! Yagami!"

"Yes, sir?"

"How long will it take to bring the generator back to a working state?"

"I'd have to check if any files were corrupted... thirty minutes."

"I want it done in fifteen! Get whomever you can to help you!"

Rena nodded, then immediately went to work, shouting instructions out to a few nearby assistants. Francois turned to Matt and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Your brother and his friend are very brave for what they did. Rest assured, they will be rewarded for their efforts."

"Thank you."

Francois then glanced over at Catherine, who was still bawling her eyes out. Sora looked at him, as if she was motioning him over. He took a step towards Catherine, then he changed his mind and started to head out of the room. Matt and Sora watched him depart without a word.

* * *

"Stacy, get me in touch with Representative O'Neil immediately!" Tai told his secretary over the cell phone. "I know the UN is in session... she needs to be updated on the situation now!" 

"That probably won't be necessary," Lou said. "We just got word that the session was brought to an abrupt end by NYPD. There were a couple of CIA agents there too."

"What? Why?"

"Phil is working to get all the details, but we think they're taking Representative Maseroon into custody."

"How?"

"Apparently, somebody dropped a great tip in the CIA's lap. One that just appeared in the database out of nowhere."

* * *

At the hot springs resort where many of the Digidestined's family members had taken shelter, Chiharu had fallen asleep at a computer near the main lobby. Her head rested on the desk on top of her arms, where she was dreaming peacefully. A blanket suddenly was draped over her thanks to Biyomon, who had been by her side the entire time. 

"We'll keep the whole bit about you knowing how to hack a secret," Biyomon winked slyly.

* * *

"What about the accomplices?" 

"There's one in Osaka in the same prison where Izzy was being held. Was because apparently he's just been exonerated and they'll be releasing him shortly. Michael, two others, and their Digimon were found at the military base where the missiles were launched from. One of them was killed when he became hostile, unfortunately."

"So that should be it, right? I think there were five humans in all. And their Digimon."

"I think so, but the authorities still have other leads and locations to check. It may be a few days before everything's completely sorted out."

* * *

Roughly twenty minutes later, Matt was accompanying the medical team that arrived from the Digimon Research Laboratory, which had managed to get the Digi-port generator up and running again. Once on site, they were led to the decontamination team's makeshift base, where TK and Patamon were chatting with one of their members. 

"TK!"

"Matt?"

"Thank goodness you're okay!" Matt cried as he ran over to hug his younger brother.

"Yeah... okay's a funny way of putting things."

"They won't have the personnel or equipment to go up there and check for another hour or so, but..."

"The guy you were talking to... he told you they're most likely dead?"

TK nodded sadly. "I still don't understand why he'd pull a stupid stunt like that."

"I really wish I knew the answer to that. But... it worked. And he'll be remembered greatly for it."

"Stupid Davis... always striving for attention. Looks like he'll get it for the rest of time."

TK, Matt, and Patamon glanced up at the smoking crater that made up what was left of the top of the mountain.

* * *

No one ever found any trace of Davis or ExVeemon up there. It was assumed that their bodies were eradicated in the nuclear blast. Not that the team had time to search, as the blast and the winds up there made it difficult to step foot up there without risk of causing an avalanche that would destroy what was left of the summit. 

I still can't figure out why Davis saved my life but he didn't try to save his own. I want make a joke about what's waiting for him in Heaven, but that would be inappropriate. Besides, I've gotten over it. And it's not like anything really happened.

Davis' wife, Dora, was pretty upset when she learned of his death. The same with his sister, June. A lot of us thought it was just because they loved picking on him at first. But we then realized how much both of them adored having him around. And how they no longer had someone in the family to take out a day's worth of frustrations out on.

All of the charges of treason and such against Izzy were dropped almost as quickly as they had been sprung on him. He was released from the Osaka Harbor Detention Center the following morning. They had to get in touch with his wife Sakura to pick him up. By the way, she was relieved to see her husband alive and only slightly worse for the wear. I heard she uncharacteristically came close to giving the Warden a piece of her mind, but cooler heads prevailed in the end.

Yolei had to remain in the hospital for a little over two weeks. The doctors were afraid that it was more than pneumonia, that she had come down with the flu. They turned out to be right, as I heard Yolei had a high fever for days. Ken was by her side as much as the doctors would let him be, swearing to always be there forever and ever. On occasion, their children would be there too... Agatha, Watson, and Mason. When they weren't, Cody, who ended up having to spend only one extra night there, was babysitting. Once the Digi-ports were opened to the public again, Cody whisked his wife Shinobu and their daughter Mai here so they could be together while he was taking care of Ken and Yolei's kids.

Ryo disappeared for a few days. Kinda. I heard he went back home and just went into hiding. Hopefully, we'll see him and Akio at Kari's funeral. He loved her so much... much more than either Davis or I did. It's disheartening not to have Kari around to brighten up any of our lives.

Kari's death had an impact on Tai too, apparently. He immediately asked to resign from his post as Japan's representative at the United Nations. They told him he would have to remain in his seat until a replacement could be found. But he never sat in on the assembly ever again. Tai says he wants to find a job that keeps him closer to home, closer to Peg and Jake. I wonder how that's going.

Matt was required to fulfill his obligations at the space station, so he immediately had to head back. Sora wasn't too pleased with that, but she wished him well anyway. When he got back, I believe they wanted him to leave, saying he needed some rest after everything that happened. But he refused to take it. Besides, he told me the other day that his lab partner, Penelope, would refuse to do any more work up there if he left. I bet she looks up to him as a hero.

Catherine broke up with Francois. She wasn't comfortable with what had transpired between them during our ordeal. She said maybe they would get back together one day, but she needed time to clear her head and really decide for herself if she really loved him.

The same could be said for Mimi, who was questioning Michael's trust and loyalty. She took Monty and traveled down to Daytona Beach, where she shacked up at Maria's actual home. I haven't been in contact with them, but rumor is that Mimi put herself 'back on the market,' even though legally she and Michael are still married. For now, anyway.

As for Michael, he's in prison awaiting trial for aiding and abetting terrorists, as well as a few minor charges. He and his lawyers are trying to break a deal that drops that major charge and keeps him out of jail, in exchange for testifying against the bad guys.

Former Australian Digidestined Derek, who had legally changed his name to 'Dingo Jack' a few months before this whole mess had even started, wasn't as lucky. 'Green' got numerous counts of attempted murder, second-degree murder, and first-degree murder. He got hit with a lot because most of the murders from the Jagamon stampede were in what was considered shared territory with his home country. He wasn't given the death penalty, though... Australia had abolished it long ago. 'Dingo Jack' received three consecutive life sentences instead, one for each of the three DPA scientists that died in the stampede. Trials are still pending in the U.S. for several terrorism charges and in Japan, for attempting to murder Izzy.

The police found Lancer, the guy who was codenamed 'Yellow,' was found dead at Maseroon's mansion, having been sliced in half. It turned out he was a native of West Antarctica and that he had joined the plot because he thought he was fighting with an organization that wanted the two countries to merge into one. There had been rumors that the Neptunian immigrants of East Antarctica wanted to branch out and help the less-financially settled Plutonians of West Antarctica. But it turned out that any support from either country was very minimal. Not that they weren't open to the idea at all... they just didn't think they could gain anything from merging two entire differently governing bodies.

Mitchell, known as 'Blue,' had been shot at that military base. It's pretty much classified information since it happened on an American installation... and a secret one, at that. I'm not going to go so far as to say he deserved it, especially after he nearly killed me and Davis, and indirectly caused Kari's death. And all that he did, including physically launching the missiles that could've killed thousands in Zan Konolchuk... he would've gotten the death penalty anyway if he were still alive.

As for 'Red,' that guy who used to like Kari too, and I refuse to mention his actual name because he started that spiral of events that killed her by trying to kill me in the Digi-world... his trial is still pending. He promised to testify as well, though there's plenty of insistence that he will still have many charges to face for his part in the terror plot, and he could still possibly get the death penalty. You know, I really don't care about him anymore... I'd rather have him rot in jail for the rest if his days, though, if it were up to me.

Yoshi Ono, the scientist who framed Izzy for treason, was awaiting trial for all of his crimes, including treason, illegal use of government property, use of firearms, attempted kidnapping, and as an accessory to the murders of Joe and the other two scientists at the Digimon Protection Agency. But apparently, he committed suicide while in the Osaka Harbor Detention Center. Because of the nature of the Centers, the exact details are classified.

I'm not privy to details regarding the sentences of the terrorists' five Digimon partners. Their crimes are dealt with by Digiworld Supreme Council, and punishments are handed out there as well. They never release verdicts to the general public, but it was assumed Gazimon, Gizamon, Betamon, Mushroomon, and Hagurumon got a varied degree of punishments as was seen fit. Michael's Betamon also went before the Council, and Patamon told me that they were forbidden to have any interaction for six months. I also suspected that their partnership as Digidestined and Digimon had been dissolved, but I have yet to find any proof of such.

As for 'White,' the mastermind that everyone knew as East Antarctican Representative to the United Nations, Jindra Maseroon, he's sitting in jail for his trial. Which is all a formality. Given what he's done and attempted to do, including destroying a portion of his own home country's capital city, he's expected to get the death penalty. East Antarctica was exploring whether they had a case for execution as well, seeing as they were the target. Though it didn't help that a piece of Neptunian technology was used to blind the city in a blizzard, leaving them unaware of what had been an attempt to destroy and/or seriously cripple the country's government. Meanwhile, the country itself reanalyzed its procedures for selecting representatives for the United Nations, and as a goodwill gesture, they decided to give up their seat until a better, safer voting system could be put in place.

As for me, well, I'm just glad that this whole thing was over. It was one rough day that we all went through. One that none of any of the surviving Digidestined and Digimon would never forget. We had to say goodbye to some dear friends, husbands, wives, and partners. Many of us, including myself, wondered if there was one thing we could have done differently... that might have saved Joe, Kari, Davis, Veemon, or any of the other humans or Digimon that passed away that fateful day.

Regardless, we all have to move on. Maybe one day we will find out the answer to that question. And we'll figure it out together. Because once a Digidestined, always a Digidestined... no matter how people enter or leave, there will always be a circle that connects us all.

**The End**

* * *

Author's Notes:  
Finally, finally freakin' finished! This took four years! Can you believe it? Four whole years! Man, where to start, where to start... 

Remember way back at the beginning that I told you that I was going to kill off three Digidestined in this fanfic? Well, at long last, here's number three. Davis. Yes, he was the one slated to die the most dramatic death in the piece. And he goes out with honor... saving the world, no less. Why not... he's not the bad of a guy as the dub made him out to be, you know.

I will admit, that a lot of factors have played into why this story took so darn long to finish. And the story has changed a lot since this was first planned out, too. I think the biggest flaw by far is not brainstorming out the story in full beforehand. Back then, I tended to (and still do now) fill in the lesser parts as I went along. This meant, especially as I tried to wrap it up in the past few months, lots of stuff ended up jumbled and not fitting, and I was juggling way too many scenes at one point with no concrete way of tying it all together. And I had to rush a lot of stuff to a conclusion towards the end to keep the fanfic within the constricted 26 episode format I had given it. Heck, this episode should've originally been 25 & 26, but I had to sandbag it all into 26.

Heck, even the epilogue is majorly rushed, as a lot of it was stuff I included in just for completeness. Which is kinda sad, really. If I was better inclined, it would be fleshed out a lot more.

So, truth be told, I'm probably going to get a lot of slack for adopting a 'let's just finish it' mantra for this rather than 'make sure the story's actually great' strategy. I'd like to hope that, one day, I'll be able to go back and rewrite this story, especially the entire second half, post-Kari's death, and make it much, much better.

But I doubt that day will ever come.

I can see you guys pointing out other flaws as well, such as a lack of Digimon fighting in the latter episodes and the fact that the story has never really pushed an R-rating much since the early episodes. For once, I feel that I've truly failed all of you loyal readers out there who've been with me since the start of my writing career in 1999, or at least since this story was first started in October 2002. I really wish I could've given a better effort, but thing is, I'm nowhere near motivated as a writer as I used to be.

Safe to say this'll be the last Digimon fanfic I'll ever write, for many, many reasons in and out of my control.

Normally I don't pander for comments other than the occasional 'read and review, if you please.' But I feel I need to this one time, just because I want some honest truth. Like, was it worth finishing this if I half-assed it through the last few episodes? Or struggled just to finish it, if that's more your speed? What did you think of the story in general? I'm curious for constructive criticism as well... I don't seem to get much of that either. Maybe if there's some other flaw I neglected to point out or question/plot point that I forget to resolve, I might redo these author's notes to add it.

Leave a review or e-mail me, either works fine.

I guess I'll wrap up with the usual thanks for reading "The Circle of the Digidestined," and I'll see you all on the flip side!

- Freedom Fighter


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